Always There: Sequel to Second Chances
by iamtyping98
Summary: Master Taia and her kids are at the Palace now and things are...complicated. With Taia and Shifu's old and new issues, Mantis and Viper fighting, and villains running wild, it's all Po, Tigress, Crane & Monkey can do to hold things together. T for language. More lighthearted than it sounds. FINISHED!
1. Coming Home

Crane removed his head from beneath his wing and slowly stretched out his neck. The poor bird had been run ragged the past week or so. With Shifu and half the team gone, bandits from everywhere and anywhere had decided it would be a nice time to do a few robberies or so. None of them succeeded of course, but the avian had been moving almost constantly, along with Viper and Monkey. The three of them had volunteered to stay behind in the hopes that they could take things a little more easily for a few days. Karma could really bite.

Crane shook the stiffness out of his wings and walked to the kitchen where Monkey was yawning over a bowl of rice. "How late did you stay up," Crane asked of his friend.

"No too late," Monkey said, "I just couldn't really sleep either way. My tail was sore so I couldn't rest on it, and it was even worse trying to sleep on my back. As soon as Mantis returns I need to ask him for some acupuncture treatments.

"Same here," Viper said as she slithered in. Having put on her usual makeup, she didn't look half as tired as Monkey and Crane felt; though her movements were a bit stiff, which was unusual for the normally gliding female.

"Yeah, if he and the others ever _get _back," Crane commented as he dug through the cabinets. Upon finding some leftover bean buns that were on the verge of going bad, he figured he might as well put them to good use.

"Of course they're coming back," Viper said as she watched Crane put his breakfast in a bowl. "Don't be ridiculous."

Monkey chewed his rice thoughtfully. The others had been gone for longer than they'd estimated. Maybe someone had been injured, or worse. A few thoughts of panic hovered in his mind before he cast them aside in favor of more rice. What was the point of worrying? Tigress was Tigress, the capable and ever determined one; Mantis wasn't the type to get injured and slow the group down and Po-

He cut his own thoughts off with a displeasured grunt. He and the panda were yet to get over the slight they'd had with one another at lunch a week or so ago. Viper sensed he was thinking about this and rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Get over it, okay? You guys are good friends who had a silly fight, and once you realize that then things will go back to normal."

"As normal as things ever are around here," Crane said, though he spoke with a fond smile.

Monkey chuckled. "True. Very, very true."

…**.**

"GET BACK HERE!"

This proclamation was answered with shrieks of laughter, as three children darted in and out of the bamboo trees.

"I mean it," the mother shouted again as she chased them.

The three of them continued to laugh uncontrollably as she grabbed each of them by the tail, hoisted them up, and carried them back to the path.

"What impressive parenting skills," said Shifu with a smirk. She gave him a mild glare before shoving a four-year-old in his arms. Said child began to bat at his beard and yank on his mustache, resulting in yelps of pain.

"What is with them," Tigress asked out of pure curiosity (and maybe a bit of annoyance).

"They're just hyper," Shifu told her. "I think," he said as he tried to stop little Hope from chewing on his robe. He pulled her off and held her in front of himself. "How old are y-

"**FOUR!"**

"Well then why are you acting like this?"

"**HUNGRY!"**

"**ME TOO!"**

"**ME THREE!"**

"**MAKE THAT FOUR!"**

That last one was from Po.

"Shifu can we stop at the noodle shop, huh, can we? Huh, can we can we can we? CAN WE-

He was cut off by a punch to the jaw from Tigress. Hope giggled hysterically and Shifu finally had to put her down so she could roll around and kick with laughter, without hurting him. A minute part of him was fascinated by children, as many people are. Tiny creatures that grew into adults. Hope was especially tiny, only a little higher than the master's own knee; at head height of course. Her ears went up to his waist.

While waiting for her to calm down a bit, he saw that Taia had managed to get her older children, Li and Benji, to clam up for a while, as she put it. This was a much appreciated thing, for once Shifu picked Hope up once more and walked forwards a ways, he saw that the Valley of Peace was just below them. He sighed with relief at the thought of the peaceful walk home that was sure to follow.

Then, of course, Po had an idea.

"Hey Mantis, bet I could beat you to the noodle shop!"

"You couldn't beat a pregnant lady to the noodle shop!"

"Oh yeah?! I bet I could beat you AND Tigress WHILE carrying this little dude-

He paused to pick up Benji.

-on my back!"

Benji grinned from his place in piggy back position. The kid still had bandages wrapped around his head injuries, yet he was happy as could be. Go figure.

Mantis countered this challenge by walking over to Shifu, taking Hope, and having her sit down on top of his strong claws.

"One-

-two-

-THREE!"

And with that, the two raced down the hill carrying the exited children. Li turned to Tigress, looking hopeful. Her wish was granted when Tigress declared that the boys would be defeated, and raced down the hill with Li on her shoulders.

"BE CAREFUL WITH MY KIDS, YOU NUTS!"

"Why is everyone yelling lately? As soon as we get back home I need to meditate for a few hours. Make that days. No a full week should do it.

Shifu expected to hear his female companion to answer, but she was hanging back.

"It just hit me," she said before he could ask. "I'm going home. HOME. My real, actual, honest-to-goodness, grew-up-there home."

"And…?"

"And? And?"

She stood there for a minute before smiling. When he was younger that smile used terrify him, because he knew that she was about to go-

"COME ON!"

-crazy. And she did.

She raced by and nearly ripped his arm off as she dragged him down the hill.

"Whoa," he cried as the two of them picked up speed. Before long they were caught in the dust cloud that the younger master's had created. Soon though, it was they who were eating dust, as Taia zipped ahead. Shifu managed to wring his hand free, but didn't slow. A grin came as the two bounded down the dirt path that had been carved out by travelers. It was early summer and the grass was lush, healthy green, with wildflowers speckling the landscape. Around the valley the mountains stood tall and proud, with the sun just beginning to rise over them, lighting the way with an orange blaze. His grin broadened as he was taken back to a time when he was younger, running around atop those mountains, inspecting every nook and cranny until he knew them like the back of his own hand. He looked up to see that they were just nearing the village. The two both slowed so as to avoid any potential lawsuits, and waited for the others to catch up.

"How's it going slow pokes," Taia teased.

"Oh it's fine," Po said. "Because we were racing to the noodle shop, not just to the village, and since you don't know where that is, I believe WE will be the winners."

"Don't get so cocky. As soon as we get back I'll be kicking your butt all over that Training Hall."

"Sure you say so… Now then, TO THE NOODLES!"

"NOODLES," Benji cried with approval, as Po continued towards his old place of residence. As of the moment the shop was mostly devoid of customers, so when Po arrived and walked through the rounded archway, his father had plenty of time to run over and reach his wings as far around the panda's midsection as was possible.

"Oh Po, I was so worried about you son! I heard that someone was trying to take over China! How could you run off without telling your father you were saving China again, hm? If you ask me it's rude! I raised you better!"

"Aw come on Dad, I-

"Never mind! Have you had breakfast? Did you have dinner last night? You look like you've lost weight! Oh this is no good… Noodles! That's what you need, is noodles!"

Mister Ping had just turned around to go start cooking when he realized something. "Why do you have a child on your head?"

"Oh yeah, Dad this is Benji, Benji this is my dad. He's one of the best cooks you'll ever know."

"Better than Ming?"

"Actually now that you mention it, Ming's cooking _was_ pretty good-

"WHAT? Someone who cooks better than me! Nonsense! Sit down at a table and I'll give you REAL food!"

As he began preparing things, Mister Ping asked, "So, Po, how did you meet your little friend?"

"Who you calling little?"

"It's kind of a long story dad, I-

"Hey Po," Mantis interrupted. He hopped up onto the table and assisted Hope in crawling into one of the stools. "Do you think maybe we should let the others know we're back?"

"That's a good thought… One of us could run up there and let them know."

"If it requires running then I don't think you're the right one for the job Po," Tigress snarked as she set Li down next to her sister.

"Cheap shot, kitty," Po muttered.

Mister Ping got the water boiling and tossed in vegetables and the ingredients for the broth. After so many years of practice it didn't take much time to make his soup, and before long he was carrying six bowls to the table. After giving everyone a bowl he looked to his son and questioned, "Well? Are you going to tell me the whole story or not? I don't have all day, and there are three children at this table I don't know."

"Well you see Dad, what happened was-

"Po?"

"Huh?"

Po looked to where Monkey was standing in the street in front of the shop. He just stared. Po stood up.

"Monkey?

"Po."

"Monkey."

"Po!"

"MONKEY!"

The two ran towards each other, their fight forgotten, and embraced.

"I'm so sorry," Po shouted, actually crying a little.

"Me too! I never want to fight like that again!"

"Me neither! Waaah!"

"Waaah!"

"For the love of Kung Fu, shut up the both of you," Tigress snapped, not in the mood for sentimentality. Po and Monkey remembered their macho manliness and gave each other a fist bump. Monkey shared another fist bump with his long time buddy Mantis.

"What took you guys so long to get home? We heard something about a crazy cobra."

"Well you see, what happened was-

"Oh my gosh, you're home!"

Viper leapt through the doorway and wrapped herself around Po in a hug. She did the same to Tigress, and kissed Mantis on the cheek, causing him to blush hideously.

"Uh, erm, what was that for…?"

"Nothing, I just really missed you. All of you!"

She turned back to the rest of the group, leaving poor Mantis to sit there perplexed.

"We totally missed you too Viper! You wouldn't believe what all happened to us! You see, first we-

"Hey, I- You guys are back!"

"CAN I PLEASE FINISH THE STORY," Po yelled at poor, confused Crane.

"Quit yelling like that," Mister Ping called to his son. Po sighed, apologized to the flying master, told him they'd missed him too, and then began his story once more.

**A FEW MINUTES LATER**

"Wow, so a lot happened," Monkey commented when Po finally concluded his story.

"Yep. That's pretty much the whole thing. Except a left out the part about…"

The panda had neglected to mention Taia, feeling Master Shifu would do a better job of explaining why a woman and her children would be moving in temporarily.

"The part about what," Crane asked.

"You'll see later," said Mantis.

"What? What are you guys trying to hide?"

Just then Shifu walked in followed by Taia. The two had been wandering around, remembering what the village looked like during their youth, reminiscing about old battles, and the like. Now they walked over, causing a few eyebrows to be raised as to why Shifu was with a woman.

"It is good to see the three of you again," Shifu said, smiling pleasantly while bowing in greeting to Viper, Monkey, and Crane. The students bowed in respect to their master before exchanging some looks.

"Hey! Nice to meet you guys! The name's Taia, Master Taia."

Taia shook Viper's tail, Crane's wing, and Monkey's hand in greeting. The three of them said hello politely and waited for an explanation.

"Ah, yes, I do suppose I should explain your presence to them, Taia."

"You mean you guys didn't tell them we're going to live with you?" She asked this while cleaning off Hope's face with a cloth, and then Benji's, much to his annoyance. When she tried to move on to Li she received an evil glare. Taia sighed, sad about the fact that her oldest was old enough to clean her own face and handed her the cloth. While all of this was going on Monkey and Crane had been firing questions left and right, and Viper just watched.

Po got them to shut up by filling in the blanks on his story.

"Alright then…," Monkey said, still a little surprised by the whole thing.

"When are we going home, Mommy?"

"Soon baby, soon. Shifu and I haven't eaten yet. Tell you what: why don't you guys show the kids around while we grab a bite to eat? Sound good?"

"Yay!"

The three of them hopped up and ran out the doorway.

"Hey wait up!"

The Five ran after the hyper kids. Before he followed Po whispered to his dad, "Hey, listen, I want you to give those two the Romantic Dinner Combo."

"Two soups in one large bowl?"

"Yep."

"But Po, why?"

"Look at them, and figure it out. For now I have some kids to catch."

Po ran out and Mr. Ping stared at the two red pandas. He and Shifu weren't exactly close, but they had a fair enough friendship, and for the life of him he couldn't remember seeing him like this. The two of them had had a short argument, which ended in laughter, which ended in a threat, which lead to an arm wrestling match. At the rate things were going his table was going to break, so he did as Po asked and set a large bowl of soup in between them. He put a smaller bowl of dumplings to the side, just to be safe.

"Ah, thank you Mister Ping."

"Mm, smells good."

The two of them broke from their duel. Each grabbed a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, and chowed down. Taia took a dumpling, dipped it in the soup and let it get soggy before she popped it in her mouth. Shifu alternated between the two and was about to take another spoonful of soup when he hear a loud slurping noise.

"Do you mind? Those noises you make while eating are repulsive."

"You could just say gross."

"Forgive me for trying to sound dignified, instead of as if I was brought up on a farm."

"Is that a crack?"

"What?"

"My parents were farmers!"

"So, they didn't raise you!"

"Fair point…"

With that she went silent and looked down at her food. He winced a little, worried that he'd hit a sensitive spot, which was the last thing he needed to do right now. "Do you miss them," he asked, hoping to recover.

"No. I didn't know them, so there's nothing to miss. Except for…" She trailed off and sighed, almost exasperated. "Sometimes I just wish that Kara and I had been raised together. If I'd had more time with her I would have apologized, she would've forgiven me, and we would have gone on with our lives. But as it was we didn't see each other until we were adults, and you and I… Well let's not talk about that. As it is I have a little question for you; about your leg."

Now _that_ was a sensitive subject, and she knew it. He looked her in the eyes and asked, "What about my leg?"

"How do you feel about it?"

"I feel little to nothing towards it now. I have gained Inner Peace, and thus have cleared my mind of any past grievances."

"Very well then…" She didn't buy it for a minute. Before long they finished and Mr. Ping came to collect the dishes.

"So," he asked. "How long have the two of you been dating?"

"_What?_" Shifu looked horrified when he heard Mr. Ping ask this. "W-w-we're not together! Not now! Not ever!"

"Well gee, I was just asking a question! You don't have to be all shouty with me! Besides, if you want to get mad and blame someone, blame Po! He's the one who made me give you a Romantic Dinner!"

"A romantic..? Ugh…"

The tired master put his elbows on the table and rubbed his sore temples. He looked up and Taia just shrugged and looked away. They sat there for a moment, before Shifu placed a few coins on the table in payment and rose to leave. Taia quickly jumped up and followed him.

"So we're going back huh?"

"That's the plan."

"We should probably round the kids up if that's the case."

"Yes, indeed."

After an extensive search they finally managed to find the entire group at the general store. Li and Benji were fighting over action figures, while Hope was cuddling a life sized stuff gorilla. The students weren't much better, with Po rummaging through mini warriors, Monkey, Mantis, and Crane arguing, and Viper trying to persuade Tigress to look for new clothes, resulting in a lot of growling.

"Come on heathens! We're homeward bound!"

"Interesting pet names you have for them…"

"No one asked for your opinion."

"Given."

"Taken, by me, and never paid for or returned."

"You're weird."

"Thank you."

Shifu rolled his eyes as the children and so-called adults came over and joined them on their walk to the Stairs. They crossed the bridge and walked through the row of finer houses before reaching the base of the steps. The children tilted their heads back to see the building at the top, which even from their place looked vast and wondrous.

"We're gonna live up there?"

"Yes," Shifu answered Benji's question. "For the time being."

"Oh. Cool!"

Immediately the two older children began a mad dash upwards, followed by Crane and Tigress who had a feeling that the kids would need help about half way up. Hope remained where she was, still a little dumbfounded, and feeling even smaller than usual. Taia lifted her, tossed her in the air, and brought her down to snuggle against her chest as they too began the long walk upwards.

"I remember the first time walking up these steps. I nearly passed out half way up," Shifu mentioned off-handedly.

"Same here," Taia agreed. "But we ended up walking up and down so many times it was-

"Easy as punching a bandit," he guessed.

"Yes. You know I never understood why that saying didn't catch on."

"For many reasons. The main one being that it sounds ridiculous."

She rolled her eyes as they continued their ascension. As predicted the kids got worn out quickly and had to be carried. They reached the top and Taia set hope down.

"Ladies, gentlemen, children of all ages! Come one come all to the one, the only, JADE PALACE!"

"YAY!"

Having finished his hammy speech, Po opened the gate doors and led the kids up the shorter flight of steps. The Five followed.

Taia stood in place, staring at the large doors. This was it. The gate to her life as a Master… It had first been opened for her long ago by a wise man whose faith was strong and his wisdom great. And she herself had slammed it shut that night when her anger had consumed her. Fear, cold and icy, shot through her liked lightning as she wondered if this was a wise decision to come back.

Shifu's sensitive ears detected a gulp. "Nervous?"

"Nervous? No, no, why would I be nervous? I'm just about to go into the place that I lived for nearly my entire childhood as well as a portion of my adult life. It's just the place that I had memorized every square inch of and vowed to guard and protect with my life. Just the place where my…" Her voice softened. "Where my Master lived…"

He felt uncomfortable seeing her like this. He wasn't exactly good with emotions. Shifu swallowed and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, and her eyes filled him with sadness.

"He's still there you know. In his own way he will always be there, and everywhere. And especially here." He rested his finger tips atop her heart. He smiled gently, reassuring her that everything would be fine. Her fear melted away quickly as she stared into his blue eyes. A smile crossed her lips.

"You know you're touching my breast, right?"

With that he snatched his hand away and made a mental note to wash it a few thousand times; for the moment wiping it on his robe would have to do. He grumbled as she laughed at him wickedly, which in turn earned her a stink eye.

"Come on perv, let's go on up!"

Rolling his eyes at being called a 'perv', he pushed the door open that led to the lower yard. She ran in looked around a bit and jogged up the stairs. She made sure to look at the rocks, the sunlight bouncing off the bright green jade that peeked through the gray stones, the way they always had. He followed, hot on her heels as they reached the Great Door that opened to the Palace itself. With a deep breath Taia pushed the doors open wide.

The Hall was a strange mix of color at this time of day. The Reflecting Pool, as well as the sky outside, bounced shades of blue off of the green stone floors. A few candles were lit, their flames waving in the slight breeze. The same breezed sent a tickle through the shelves of ancient scrolls, a crackling of old paper following its movement.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the bamboo and sandal wood incenses that were burned during meditation hours. The large ears picked up the gentle ripples in the water. The polished stone was cold beneath her feet. Her senses were at such a height it was as if they didn't belong to her, and instead dwelled somewhere beyond her mind and body.

This was the place… This was where she belonged. For good.

"I'M HOME!"

Her shout echoed through the many hallways and Shifu had to wince and lay his ears flat to tolerate the noise. Taia's somber concentration had been shattered, and she was now bouncing off the walls, re-familiarizing herself with the place.

"Look at all the weapons! Oh, you used that to knock a guy out! Cool! And that's the hallway to the dungeon, awesome! Oh my gosh, look at all the DRAGONS! I loved these dragons! I remember we used to make up names for them, remember? And we used to have those ceremonies in here all the time, and we'd spar, and break something, and then we'd have to tell Oogway and he'd-

"Slow down," he commanded as he grabbed her tail tip to get her to stop running and talking a million miles an hour.

"BUT I'M-!"

"I know. You are excited to be home. This I understand. But I need you to calm yourself before we have a repeat of one of those breaking-things incidents you so keenly mentioned."

"Okay, okay," she said, mostly to herself, trying to focus. "Keep calm… Keep calm…"

A few deep breaths later and she was as zen as ever, though she still wore a smile of elation.

"Good; excellent work getting in control. Now then, let us head in the direction of the Barracks. I believe that is where we shall find the others at the moment."

"Great! And I can show the kids around!"

"Yes. Later we'll have to assign them rooms."

"Now that I think none of them have ever had their own room. Not to mention they'll need all new clothes after everything in our house burnt down."

Yes," he said carefully as they began the trek to the Barracks. "Once again I'm very sorry that had to happen."

"Oh, it's not your fault," she hand waved. "Crud happens. I'm just glad all the important stuff got out first, like the kids, the people, and my knife!"

"Yes, we certainly can't forget old Trusty, can we?"

"You remembered the name," she said in more of an awed statement than a question. As they walked she pulled out the knife and examined the blade. A few spots, now browned, remained, having not been able to be properly cleaned. She gulped remembering what she had done to- No, no, no! She would NOT regret what she did to that bastard… NEVER!

"I remember the day you received that knife," Shifu spoke, shattering her thoughts. "Your parents had left a few things to the two of you and the orphanage hung on to them until you were eighteen."

"Yeah," she said, trying to bring her mind back down to Earth. "I remember when the Matron showed up and gave me a box. She said she'd already been to see Kara… And that she'd left the only thing she didn't want."

"I still recall how excited you looked when you opened up and found it inside. You spent hours polishing it up."

"Well its old you know!"

"Yes, and it is enjoyable to see you treat something with such reverence."

They were nearly upon the Barracks now. The building was sheltered with a few older trees and bushes as well as the bamboo that grew every year.

"It's particularly tall this year," Shifu commented.

"Yes, it is. Speaking of bamboo, isn't that your flute?"

It _was _his bamboo flute. Someone had left it lying on the ground. Snarling he picked it up and made quick work of cleaning off the dirt and dust it had collected.

"You know as excited as you say I was about the knife, I can't imagine I was any happier than you were when Oogway gave that to you."

It had been a gift from his master on the day he turned eighteen, and Shifu had treasured it ever sense, the way he did so with anything Master Oogway gave him or had a special connection with. In this way he felt closer to him. He looked forward to talking more about their master with Taia, but for now he needed to figure out whose tail he was going to kick for leaving his flute in the yard. With this in mind he marched up the steps and opened the door firmly. Taia followed behind, wanting to see what her old room looked like now, and also interested to see if she was going to get to watch some butt kicking.

Po had set the kids up with his action figure to distract them while he laid down his match maker plan to Monkey, Crane, and Viper. While he explained what they (or he, and Tigress and Mantis via force) had done to try and set their Master up with their new friend, they looked at him with interest. As soon as he finished Monkey slapped him.

"OW! What was that for?"

"For coming up with a really good idea and not following through!"

"What?"

Both Po and Tigress said this. In reply Monkey shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic. Besides Po's right; it's about time Shifu loosened up. I mean sure he's a lot looser now then he was a year or so ago, but still, what's the harm in trying to get him a girlfriend?"

"SEE. Monkey knows what's up!"

"Po, this isn't a good idea," Crane, always the moral guardian, said. "If they have feelings they need to figure it out for their own; Shifu especially considering his issues."

Po grunted and pinched the bridge of his noise while saying, "Don't you get it? That's the point of this whole thing! Shifu would NEVER admit it if he felt something! Instead he'll clam up and die alone! Is that what you want? For our Master to die alone? Cold, shriveled and unloved? No longer able to practice Kung Fu… Confined to his room due to old injuries that lead to a tragic downward spiral of aging… Unable even to lift a glass of water to his dry, parched-

"Okay, okay, we get the point," Crane interjected, no longer wanting to hear Po's spiel.

"So you'll help?"

"I don't know Po," Viper said gently. "What if Shifu realizes what we're doing? Don't you think he'd be upset, or maybe even embarrassed?"

"I know… But if it succeeds: GREAT! Fails: At least we tried, and now we know that either it wasn't meant to be _or_ we just suck as match makers."

"Well…"

"Come on guys, who with me? We'll vote! All in favor of trying to pair them up, say Aye! Aye!"

No one else spoke at first. Then Monkey said Aye. Mantis shrugged and did the same and Crane mumbled his agreement. Viper thought it over before giving in as well, smiling at the thought that she might be able to make her Master happy, as was her nature.

"Awesome! So that's five against one, majority rules, and we are good to go!"

"Oh no you're not! It might be five against one, but that one is me!"

"Tigress, my fine feline friend, you present a very good point."

"You bet I do."

Po sighed loudly and said, almost whined, "Come on Tigress! Don't you want to make Shifu happy?"

How dare he ask such a question? Of course she wanted him to be happy. That was all she had ever wanted; to make him happy and proud of her. But she hardly saw how simply getting him a girlfriend would help the matter… Rolling it over in her mind she recalled Taia jumping off a cliff to save Shifu, and later sitting by his bedside until she was physically incapable of staying awake. Loyal aspects, and to Tigress loyalty was something to be valued. Not to mention she'd never seen Shifu act so trusting, yet so distant with anyone… Anyone except herself…

"Alright," she huffed. "I will help with your psychotic plan."

"But," she announced before Po had time to jump for joy. "I'm laying down rules: Rule 1, we don't focus on this every minute of every day, and _especially_ not during training hours. Rule 2, we don't do anything stupid like use a love potion or something. Okay, that's just messed up! And Rule 3: Shifu CANNOT find out about this!"

"Shifu can't find out about what?"

At the stern words the six of them jumped a few feet in the air and turned to where there Master was standing, and looking at them quite irritably. "Would someone care to explain," he spoke in what a normal person would have thought was a calm voice, "what my flute was doing outside, in the yard, in the _dirt_?"

At the stern words the six of them jumped a few feet in the air and turned to where there Master was standing, and looking at them quite irritably. "Would someone care to explain," he spoke in what a normal person would have thought was a calm voice, "what my flute was doing outside, in the yard, in the _dirt_?"

Po, Tigress, and Mantis breathed a sigh of relief knowing that since they had only just gotten home it couldn't have been pinned on them. Crane didn't know anything and neither did Viper. Monkey on the other hand…

"Oh, uh, sorry Master… I couldn't find my Bo staff yesterday, so I, kind of, well, borrowed your flute to use for practice…"

"And you left it in the yard?"

"Yes…"

"Over night, I'm assuming?"

"Yes…" Monkey swallowed, trying to hide how scared he was. As Shifu's eyes glared until they were only furious slits, Monkey thought about running.

"Mr. Sifu?"

Shifu's ears twitched at the sound of his name and title being mispronounced, and he searched visually for the source. Looking down he saw Hope staring up at him.

"Mommy said, that if I asked real, real, nice, that maybe we could please play checkers?"

His eyebrows rose slightly. "Checkers?"

"Uh huh! She took Li and Benji to go looking at the fighty building but I don't want to, so can we please play, please?"

"The fighty building? Oh, yes, the Training Hall. Tell you what, why don't you play with Po, hm? I can't right now because I need to beat the monkey business out of a monkey."

"Okay. But we can play later right?"

"Of course, little one. Now then, you three," he said, turning to look at Tigress, Po, and Mantis. "You are allowed the rest of the day off after everything that has happened. And you two," he pointed to Viper and Crane, "I hear have been working hard to protect the Valley and for that you may have a day of rest as well. Monkey, you may follow me."

Monkey gulped and followed his Master, looking much like he was on his way to the chopping block. Not far off, actually…

Hope's ears drooped as she watched Shifu leave. She'd never really had a male figure in her life so she had taken to latching on to various men that happened to come along. Shifu was the only one so far that had stuck around for more than a day, and the fact that he was, from what she could tell, friends with her mother, made the feeling even stronger. So watching him walk away was hard.

But only for a second or two, of course. She now demanded that Po play checkers with her, and the panda grinned, happy to do so.

...

"Well shorties, what do you think of the joint?"

"This place is awesome Mom!"

"Yeah, wait until we get to tell all the other kids that we live at the JadePalace!"

The kids high fived at the prospect of showing off. They both knew right away, that this was going to be awesome.


	2. Closed Doors

Taia continued to show the kids around, pointing out any places that had a particularly special memory with them. Meanwhile…

"Again," Shifu called calmly.

Wheezing, Monkey hurled himself through the Seven-Taloned rings, and onto the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom. This had to be at least the fiftieth time he'd run through the course that day. Not once had he been allowed to rest or get a drink of water. When Master Shifu was upset he made sure it was known.

Monkey collapsed on the wood floor at his Master's feet. "Perhaps next you'll make sure to treat other people's possessions with respect, Master Monkey."

"Yes, Master," Monkey groaned as he lifted and saluted, bowing his head.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me."

Shifu left Monkey trying to catch his breath, and went in search of his lady friend.

"Hm… I wonder where she would be by now," he thought out loud. He made his way to the Palace and was walking down the corridor when he heard noise coming from his room.

"Woohoo! Yippee! Woo!"

"Oh no… She can't be…"

She was; jumping up and down on his bed. He couldn't recall the exact number of times that she had used this method to wake him up before the morning bell, but he knew that it was well into the thousands. He watched as she went up and down, up and down, doing flips in midair. She spotted him and called, "Hey, your bed is even bouncier than it used to be!"

"Well that's good to know, and now that you've told me, perhaps you could stop that?"

"Sure."

She promptly hopped down and dove under the bed. A sudden realization hit him when he recalled stowing a box of her possessions under his bed what had only been a week or so ago. He winced as he saw her pull it out and stare at him.

"Why do you have some of my junk under here? Not to be rude but that's a little creepy."

"It's a long story, but that only ended up down there a few days a go," he muttered in reply.

"Still creepy," she said while rummaging through the box. She found and opened the picture of herself and grimaced. "Ugh, I hate this one! It looks nothing like me! They went out of their way to make me look so delicate!" It was one of those portraits that had been made to be sold on a mass scale, and apparently painting her looking like the tough person she was had been asking too much.

Shifu looked at the picture and how lady like and graceful it made the red panda appear. "I think it makes you look lovely."

"See? See how misleading it is!"

She tossed the scroll aside and buried her head in the box, trying to hide the awful blush that he had caused by complimenting her. She pulled out a few paper fans and some portraits with her and Master Oogway.

"Hey," she called from in the box. "Look!"

She came out holding a green jacket. It had sturdy stitching, a silk sash, and silk cuffs with a design of waves on them.

"I love this thing! Remember, I'd wear it all the time. Let me see if it still fits." She started to take her ill fitting shirt off and looked at him. "Hey, turn around!"

"Oh, sorry!"

He turned away and she slipped into her old shirt. "Hey it still fits! Decades later and I'm still the same size. That's either really good, or really bad. Heck, who cares? That reminds me, the kids are going to need all new clothes, and I can only imagine how many toys they're going to ask for."

"I can help you with that."

"Thanks bud," she said, giving him a light punch to the jaw as a sign of affection. "You're being real sweet, you know that?"

"Well, after everything that's been going on, I though you could use a little bit of kindness."

She smiled.

…**.**

"Alright, who's next?"

"Me!"

Po and Crane glared at each other as Tigress walked out of Mantis's room looking refreshed. He'd just started giving acupuncture treatments and a line had formed.

"I believe its _ladies _first," Viper said, slipping into Mantis's room and slamming the door in the guys' faces. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this all week," she sighed, flopping down on the mat in front of her fellow green warrior.

"I can tell. You're really tense," Mantis observed. He looked around and found his chart on snake anatomy and set it down where he could get a good look at it while he worked. "So," he said while readying his needles. "I heard you guys have been busy."

"Yeah we really have been…" She said, instantly relaxing as he inserted the first needle into her body. "You know, I can't how many times we'd be fighting some random bandit and be about to call for you, and then I remember you weren't there. Funny, huh?"

"Yeah, funny," he said, feeling a little distracted.

"You know I remember when you first started learning acupuncture. Everyone was afraid to let practice on them because they thought you'd stab them to death," she said, giggling.

"Yeah I remember. And you were the first one to let me practice on you."

"Of course I was. I always try to help out the people I care about."

"Yeah you do," he said, quietly. He continued to insert needles along her graceful body, relieving the different nerve points of their tension. Every now and then she would let out a little sigh of comfort, until finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, uh, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"It's just well… It's about that kiss from earlier…"

"That wha- OW!"

"Oh, sorry!"

He fumbled to pull the needle back out of her scaly skin. She turned her body so that she could look at him while he worked.

"I didn't mean anything by it really," she said softly. "I was just trying to show a little affection because I missed you a lot."

"You didn't show Po any affection like that…"

"No, I didn't," she whispered while looking at the floor. He picked up another needle and continued the treatment. "I'm sorry I upset you," she said just as softly.

"Oh no, no, you didn't upset me Vipe. It's just, it was kind of out of nowhere and I wasn't sure if maybe you were trying to say something…"

"Say something?"

"You know, like, if maybe you, kind of liked me… Or something."

"Oh, whoa! No, no, no! I wasn't trying to say that at all!"

"Oh, yeah, I figured not-

-yeah because that would be awkward-

-oh yeah, SO awkward!"

The two of them laughed nervously and Viper jumped in pain once more as Mantis misplaced a needle. When things settled down a little, Viper got to thinking.

"What would you do if I did say I like you?"

Mantis's antennae twitched as he slowly turned his head to meet her azure blue eyes. She blinked them at him, making her long eyelashes flutter. He gulped and stammered, "Uh, well, I don't know, I guess I'd say uh… That I like you…. As a friend."

"What," she said flatly.

"You know, we're friends. Nothing more. Right?"

"Right. Sure. That's all we are."

"Yeah," he chuckled, still feeling a little queasy. "So, uh, I'm done here, and you can send Crane in. I figured I better save Po for last, because you know, he takes so long."

"Yeah sure," she said, not paying attention.

"Okay. Thank you!"

Crane walked in and watched Viper slithering out with her head hung low before looking back at Mantis again.

"What's going o-

"Shut the door. Shut it. NOW!"

"Whoa, okay," Crane said shutting the paper door behind him. "What is wrong with you?"

"I think Viper likes me!"

"Um… Duh!"

"What?"

Crane sighed and folded his legs neatly and rested gently on the mat. He took off his mat and looked at Mantis.

"Look, normally I'm not the one to talk about this stuff, but here's the facts: she's always making sure you watch what you say around people, she spars with you more often than anyone else, and while you were gone she wouldn't stop talking about you. Throw in a few conversations I heard between her and Tigress (let's be honest you can hear _anything _through these walls) and here is my conclusion: SHE LIKES YOU!"

"Oh my gosh… So all the times she hit me with her tail she was showing affection?"

"Well actually she was trying to get you to act like a jerk, but the effort is still there."

"Whoa…"

"So what finally tipped you off?"

"Well, you know, we were talking, it was awkward, then she asked what I'd do if she said she liked me, and I said I like her as a friend-

"WHAT?"

"WHAT?"

The second exclamation came from Po who slammed the door open, his mouth agape. Mantis, having jumped a few feet in the air, tried to collect himself and stared at his friends.

"What do you mean what? All I did was-

"You friend-zoned her?"

"Huh? Wait… No I- Oh no you're right!"

Crane rolled his head back and Po pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wow, poor Viper," Mantis said quietly. "Oh well, I guess that's it."

"What do you mean that's it? That can't be it," Po snapped. "You need to apologize!"

"Why? What does it matter? I already told her I didn't want to go out. Besides now that I think about it, it's probably best. She and I don't have a lot in common anyway."

"What the- What- I don't-

"Crane, if you're done stuttering I'd like to treat you so that I can move on and do what I want with the rest of my free time."

The two guys just stared at him until finally Po just closed the door, not sure what else to think about the situation.

…**..**

Taia sighed, ending her meditation. A sound of giggles drifted from inside the Barracks. She smiled and stood up.

She was about to enter the building when another sound met her ears. Searching around she spotted the source. Atop the hill, perched high upon his master's wooden staff, he sat playing his flute softly. The notes were carried down the slope and soared into her ears, causing an even softer smile to spread across her lips. She sighed and backed up to lean against a tree, observing the way the moon shone behind him, making the white fur glow.

So calm… So focused… So content…

She sighed again.

_Look at yourself… Sighing yourself silly over a guy playing a flute. A guy who doesn't even realize how much you care about him… Oh why not just say it? You don't just care, for crying out loud you're-_

A crash came from inside the Barracks and Taia tore her eyes from Shifu and his flute.

_Looks like I'll have to confess my undying lo-_

"HEY! LET GO!"

"Oh forget it," she grumbled out loud. She made her way up the steps and into the kitchen where Monkey and Mantis were fighting over some left over dumplings. Taia rolled her eyes and walked down the hall until she found the kids.

"Alright, bedtime!"

"Aw!"

The kids had spent the day playing with the Masters, with the exception of Monkey of course, who had spent the entire time napping after his strenuous exercise.

"Come on you guys, don't you want to pick out your new rooms?"

"Wait a minute," Li said, pausing in the act of jumping up and down on Po's belly. "Room_s_. As in plural? As in more than one room for three people under the age of thirteen?"

"More or less."

"You mean I don't have to spend the rest of my childhood stuck in the same room as my repulsive sisters?"

"Yes Benji, that's what it means. You each get your own room to sleep in. It can be here in the Barracks or in the Palace where you'll be closer to me."

Hope crawled out of the fort they had built and wrapped her arms around her mother's leg. "I'm staying with Mama!"

"Well that's one for the Palace. You guys?"

"Here," they chorused.

"Alright. And I am _not_ cleaning your rooms!"

They both weighed their options and decided they'd deal with that as it came. Taia took them both to the available rooms which were across the hall from each other.

"Awesome!" Benji ran in and flopped down on his new bed. Li walked into her own room and looked around, rubbing her chin. "This place has such potential…."

"No paint kid."

"Dang it!"

"Alright, everybody settled now," she asked, looking into both rooms. A pair of yeses confirmed her guess. "Okay," she said, going to tuck in Benji first. "Now it's off to Dreamland."

"Is Dreamland a real place? What do people wear there? Do they eat clouds?"

"Tell you what, why don't you go there tonight and tell me in the morning over some nice hot rice?"

"Yum! Deal," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. Taia held in a laugh as she went to kiss Li goodnight. The young rabbit was curled up on the bamboo cot looking wistful.

"Hey sweetie. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… I miss the house. A lot. All our stuff is just-

Taia had her wrapped in a hug before the first tear could fall. She held her gently rubbing her daughter's back. "I know how hard it is to have to find a new home baby. I've done it before. It'll all work out…"

"But- But-

"No crying!" Li looked down to where Hope was pointing a finger at her. "If I see one more tear you're in big trouble soldier!"

Li and Taia both laughed at her innocence. Taia place a kiss on Li's head and covered her up. "Night hon'. It'll work out. I promise."

She picked Hope up and carried her and her blanket outside. On her way to the Palace she looked up at the hill again. He was gone. She sighed once more, this time wistfully. She shook her head in an attempt to shrug it off as they reached the Palace. Walking through the hallways she found a simple bedroom with a small bed and a window that would let plenty of light in.

"Oh, I like it," said Hope, crawling from her mother's grasp and going to hop on the bed. She wrapped the blanket around herself like a cocoon and snuggled into the fat pillow. Taia smiled and kissed her forehead saying, "Goodnight my little love. You'll be okay without me won't you?"

"Uh huh."

"I'm right down the hall if you need me."

"Uh huh."

"And you don't need anything else?"

"Uh uh!"

"Alright then." Taia kissed her child's forehead once more and watched as the little one's eyes drifted shut. She opened the window to let the moon shine in, and shut the door most of the way behind herself.

"Ugh," she said, combining a stretch with a yawn as she walked down the hall to the master's quarters. Shifu's own room was closer to the Hall of Warriors, and for a moment Taia considered going to bid him goodnight. But, considering what she'd almost let slip earlier, she decided talking to him was a bigger risk than she felt like taking.

Continuing down the hall she brought forth her thoughts from earlier. Why did she have to have moments like that? They were entirely unprofessional; she was a warrior. She was a mother. She was a friend. What she WASN'T was some star struck, out of breath, clutching her chest and sighing teenager. And Shifu of all people wasn't a person to sigh over. So what had gotten in to her?

_Well he is sort of cute, in a fuzzy way. And he can look down right handsome when he's dressed up. And he's good at Kung Fu, and he's a good talker. And he is my friend so-_

"Hi."

"AH!"

"OOOWW!"

"Oops," Taia muttered as Shifu grabbed a hand to his left eye and used the good one to glare at her. She was used to those blue eyes glaring at her; overtime she'd actually grown to like and later miss that look.

"Sorry. Didn't know it was you."

"First: You should have recognized my voice. Second: You should have looked before you punched. Third: You have pathetic form."

"Hey, at least I can block a punch!"

"I wasn't expecting it!"

"And I wasn't expecting you to be in my bedroom! Get out!"

"Fine! For the record I came to wish you a goodnight, but that's down the drain!"

"Wait," she said as he made his way out the door. She grabbed his hand. The back and fingertips were cold from being outside for so long, but the dark palm was warm. She pulled him back and kissed his cheek before letting go.

"Goodnight sweetie."

He stared at the closed door before turning to go.

…**.**

Mantis stared at the door. Finally he gulped and knocked. She answered, looking a bit tired. Even without her makeup and her flowers she was a vision of grace and beauty. He swallowed again.

"Viper… Look, earlier you caught me off guard. I wasn't sure what to think… But I've thought about a lot of stuff all day and, well… Would you maybe like to go out with me? I know I've got problems, let's be honest who doesn't, but I think that maybe if we tried it, we'd find something…"

Viper lowered her body a bit so that they were closer to eye level. She reached forward to rest the tip of her tail on his back and blinked her shimmering pools. And in the voice of the gentlest of angels she said, "No thanks."

Mantis stared at the closed door for nearly an hour before slowly turning to go back to his own room.


	3. Confusion

He looked at himself in the mirror while he fastened the top of his robe. He took the green sash and tied it about his waist, completing the outfit. Looking closer he used his fingers to smooth his ruffled eyebrows. Shifu sighed and shook his arms out, trying to better wake himself. Odd dreams had tortured him all night. Something had been chasing him and for some reason he wanted it to catch him…. But his legs wouldn't listen.

"Ah well," he said in self reassurance. "Nothing to worry about now and _certainly _nothing that a little morning meditation can't solve."

With that he was off. Walking into the Hall of Warriors, he lifted Master Oogway's staff from its holding place and started of for the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. Why it had such a long title he had no idea, when in reality it was usually just called The Peach Tree. He started to make his way out of the Palace but stopped when an idea hit him.

"Well… Why not?"

* * *

_It was warm… As if a blanket was wrapped around her… She opened her eyes and looked up slightly and met his own crystal blue orbs. She inhaled sharply in surprise. He smiled down at her from his two or three superior inches. She blinked trying to understand what he was doing here, holding her like this, and before she could ask he was leaning in closer. _

_Out of nowhere she heard a cry and he was lying on the floor bleeding from his neck. A pair of red eyes flashed before her and she saw herself kneeling over him, propping him up, sobbing… _

"_I need you! I love you!"_

_Love you…Love you…Love you…_

* * *

She sat up breathing heavily, cold sweat running down her forehead and chest. She leaned back on her hands trying to relax when she heard another knock at the door. Feeling thankful towards whoever had snapped her out of the nightmare, Taia crawled out of bed, pulled on her black pants and a green tank top and trudged her way to the door. She opened it and blinked until Shifu came into focus. Thinking back to her dream her eyes widened and darted to the floor.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I was on my way to The Peach Tree for my morning meditation, and I thought perhaps you'd like to accompany me. I remembered how you enjoyed watching the sunrise.

_I love you…I love you…_

Trying not to stare at the fang marks that were still present on his neck, she stammered, "Yeah, yeah, okay, I'll be right there, just let me get my jacket."

She carefully closed the door and slipped her jacket/shirt on. Thinking a moment she poked her head out. "Uh, actually, I'm going to have to meet you there in a minute or two."

"Oh, alright," he said, turning to go.

She sighed and shut the door again. "Okay, just focus, and you can do this," she mumbled to herself. She would need an excuse for why she held back…

"Oh my gosh," she realized with a horrified start. "Benji! I haven't checked on him in hours!" She immediately ran out of the Palace, on her way to the Barracks.

Shifu walked down the quiet road, looking up to take note of the pale gray morning sky. He reached and ascended the stone staircase. Upon reaching the top he sank to the ground with a content sigh. The master closed his eyes and listened closely to the sounds of morning. Crickets chirping, the breeze rustling through the grass and the branches of the peach tree…

He looked up at the blossoms that so reminded him of his Master. A quiet sigh and he was back to normal. Shifu was fully aware that it had been his master's time, but the short moments of missing his wisdom, guidance, and care never seemed to escape him. And perhaps they never would.

In the Barracks Taia kissed her sleepy son's head, having just changed his bandages. Benji mumbled something before sinking back into his covers. Taia smiled, kissed his forehead gently, and left him to sleep. Getting up, she closed the door slowly behind herself, and was on her way to the Peach Tree when she bumped into a rather frazzled Mantis.

"Whoa," she said. "You look like someone stepped on you!"

"You could say that," he grunted. He trudged off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Are you sure I can't help you with something," Taia asked, trying to be helpful.

Mantis sighed and looked back at her. "No offense but I don't think my problem is exactly in your area of expertise."

"Why do you say that?"

Mantis was already in the kitchen and didn't answer so Taia shrugged and made her way to the Peach Tree.

"Hey Shifu, I-

"Hush."

With a bemused glare she walked forward quietly and sat next to him, legs crossed.

"Now watch," he whispered.

She turned to look out over the ridge. The mountains, shaped like rough and rocky towers littered with green patches, were surrounded by the low hanging, smoky clouds of mist. The sky was gray, and at the edge of the horizon they watched as a faint yellow blended into the gray and spread. It was followed closely by a soft pink. Slowly the pink pushed away its fellow colors to make way for the sun, a fiery and majestic sphere of reddish orange.

Shifu stood and Taia looked up to where the Grand Master was offering a hand to her. She took it, and found herself standing to face him. What was he doing?

She got her answer when he stepped back and breathed deeply before moving slowly into a Tai Chi motion. It didn't take long for her to fall into step and soon they were performing the ancient motions that had been passed down for centuries upon centuries.

As the sun continued to rise they continue their methodic motions, until it was so bright they had to shield their eyes.

"Wow," she said when their actions grew to a halt. "We haven't done that in a while."

"Precisely why I wanted you to come up here. Now then, unless you're simply dying to have breakfast, perhaps you'd like to go to the Training Hall with me?"

"You read my mind!"

* * *

Tigress stretched her back and arm muscles as she walked up the steps to the Training Hall. In her opinion it'd been far too long since she'd last had the chance to work out on the equipment she was so familiar with, and now she looked forward to falling back into their normal routine.

"GAH! HYAH! AAAAHHHH!"

Tigress's eyes widened and she ran in the direction of the shouts. She opened the door to the Training Hall and her jaw dropped when she saw what was going on.

"STUPID STUPID STUPID SSTUPID!" Viper slammed the punching bag (sometimes called the Adversary) into the wall with each shout. "STUPID! STUPID! GAH!" She hurled the bag across the room and it bounced back. She sent it flying once more and it landed in the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom, spun around a bit, and came flying back out. With another whack from her tail the poor punching bag landed in the middle of the Wooden Warriors and was smacked around until finally it shot upwards and collapsed on the wooden floor of the sidelines. Viper slithered over and looked down at the bag, still seething.

"Um, Viper?"

Viper turned around to see her best girl friend and immediately cheered up. "Oh hey Tigress," she cried, all smiles.

Tigress, a little creeped out by the sudden mood change, walked over to her friend slowly. "Having a bad day?"

"Oh no, I just kind of felt like letting off a little steam! You know how it is; you get so caught up with certain things and then you start to have funny thoughts, and before long you're spilling your guts out only to get walked all over after everything you've ever done for AAAUUGGHH!"

The punching bag was sent flying in the direction of the door. Unfortunately Taia and Shifu were just walking in and the Grand Master was suddenly in the middle of a wall and punching bag sandwich.

"Oops! Sorry Master Shifu," Viper apologized and slithered over to try to help her mentor.

"Gah," Shifu grunted as gravity pulled the bag off and he sank to the floor. "Viper, what's gotten into you? I'd never expect such erratic behavior out of a young lady such as yourself."

"Forgive me Master… I've been a little overwhelmed lately, I suppose."

Without warning, the poor battered bag was sent flying again, and it bounced around on the thick wooden coils that were placed beneath the Seven Swing Clubs of Instant Oblivion. One of the clubs struck the Adversary with its flattened side and the bag soared back towards the door again. Taia swiftly moved beneath it and hit the underside of the bag with a high knee kick. The bag slowed and Taia started hitting the bag from knee to knee, enjoying herself.

Shifu and Tigress, having never seen the gentle reptile act this way, regarded Viper with caution.

"So are we still going to spar? It's been a while I've gotten a change to watch you lose miserably."

"Taia, please quit kicking that thing, you're being very distracting."

"You're changing the subject."

"What of it?"

Taia kicked the bag to the wall where it finally came to a rest. She looked Shifu in the eye. "You know you'll lose."

"I highly doubt that…"

"Then shall we begin? After all that IS the only way we can determine the victor."

"Yes of course. But perhaps this is a battle best saved for the courtyard?"

"Fair enough," she said. Breaking her serious tone, she looked at the female masters. "Hey, you guys want to watch two of the pros go head to head?"

"Sure, that sounds fun," Viper said, radiating perkiness. Tigress looked at Viper warily before following the two masters outside to the courtyard.

The two walked to the center of the yard. They faced each other and bowed before getting into their stances. The morning was cool; the mood tense. Shifu closed his eyes and breathed in the energy of the universe…

He heard the rush of air and his eyes snapped open in time for him to block a blow to the shoulder. He blocked her a few more times from different angles and moved to the offensive position with a high kick. She easily evaded and pushed his leg away so that his body turned enough for her to use her right arm and left leg to send him flipping upside down. In a heart beat he swiped at her ankles, which sent her toppling. Before she hit the ground he righted him, slid his hands beneath her and chucked her upwards and behind himself. Grabbing his shoulders while still in the air, she brought her heels down to dig into the back of his knees and he hit the dirt. She put a foot in the middle of his back, declaring herself the winner.

Frustrated he wiggled around and found himself unable to move; she was hitting his pressure points.

"Your back is always your weakness," she said. "You don't guard it well enough. How many times in the past have you been stunned just by having your back thrown into the wall?"

"Having your entire spin hit at once is painful. Now let me up!"

Removing her foot, he rose, dusted himself off and folded his hands neatly behind his back.

"I was too easy on you."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Nevertheless, this is a matter that we must settle some other time. For now we must go and greet the other students when the bell wakes them. Come along."

"Actually Mantis is already up," Taia commented as they were heading out the door. "He-

CRASH!

Shifu turned to wear three weapon racks lay in ruins. Tigress pointed at Viper, wide eyed.

"What?" Viper asked.

* * *

"Higher, Po."

"YAGH!"

"Higher!"

"I'm trying!"

Po collapsed and looked at his exasperated Master. He'd assigned one hundred pushups as part of the Dragon Warrior's warm up. At twenty Po felt tired. At fifty he felt fatigued. At seventy he felt like barfing. Now he was at eighty-five and he couldn't seem to keep his back straight.

"Come on Shifu I-

"Are you making an excuse?"

"An excuse? No! What kind of thing is that to say I- Okay yeah. Seriously, my arms hurt!"

"Do I need to make you do this over hot coals?"

"Oh, uh, no! That's not necessary!"

Po continued his pushups, slowly. "So what's Taia's job again," he asked, trying to take away from his poor posture.

"When Oogway trained Taia and I he used very different methods in order to fit our different personalities. I have taught you and the Five using the methods that I know and understand. While she is here, Taia will observe everyone's work. If she sees something that is weak or could be improved upon in one of you, she'll see if one of her kinds of teaching works better for you."

"But isn't it bad to have more than one Master?"

"Not if it is to help. I think this will go well. She already seems to be bonding with Viper."

Shifu glanced to where Taia was commenting on Viper's performance on the Field of Fiery Death. Viper was nodding and listening closely. It suddenly occurred to Shifu that as crazy as Taia could be at times, she genuinely knew how to relate to people. Perhaps he didn't give her enough credit…

"ARGH!"

"Alright, Po, that's enough. Everyone!"

At his call the Five rushed to their spots and bowed. Taia followed and stood next to him quietly, her chin held high.

"Now then, today I'd like everyone to understand that you are to treat Taia with the same level of respect that you treat me. She will be observing and correcting you just as, if not more, sternly than I do. Understood?"

"Yes Master."

"Good. Now I'd like everyone to work on their weaker points today. Crane, go work on the Field. Po, Tigress, and Monkey will be on the Seven Swinging Clubs. Viper and Mantis, I'd like the two of you to spar with Bo staffs."

"Alright guys, three way sparring, woohoo," Po said as everyone went to their own spots. Three way sparring wasn't something they did often, and the outcome was always unexpected. With Tigress expertise and Monkey's trickery, Po would have to remain alert. Crane nervously landed in the center of the field and gulped. Fire was not his friend. Mantis picked up his tiny Bo staff and walked in front of Viper. The female's tongue flicked out sharply, indicating annoyance. He gulped, not sure what to expect.

"Begin!"

Loud grunts rang out in the Hall as Tigress and Monkey swung punches at Po as well as at each other. The panda dodged a club and performed a back flip to avoid a swipe from the striped Master.

Over on the Field Crane was having a tough time of things. If he were a flightless bird he would've been charred by that point.

"Crane, keep your wings straight," Taia called.

Following directions, Crane straightened his wings in time to narrowly miss two small pillars of flame. He made a mental note to thank her later.

Mantis dodged the wooden staff and leapt to try and strike a blow to his opponent. Surprisingly, Viper was fast enough to whack him away before he could land. Frustrated, he attacked once more.

Shifu was carefully observing as Monkey and Po doubled up on Tigress, when he heard a cry of pain come from the other side of the hall.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry! I thought you-

"You thought what? Huh? _What?_ That it wouldn't hurt? That you could do whatever you wanted and it would be okay? It doesn't work that way, Mantis!"

"What is going on over here," Shifu interjected, breaking up the argument. Viper was holding her tail up as if it was hurt and Mantis looked confused and angry. Shifu shook his head.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I won't tolerate it. Viper, go spar with Tigress. Mantis, you're with Monkey. Po go practice on the Jade Tortoise."

Shifu limped back to his spot next to Taia who raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head, unsure of what exactly was causing his students, especially the sweet Master Viper, to become so restless.

"So," Tigress said, making casual conversation as Viper evaded her kicks. "What's gotten into you today?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't try to lie to me Viper. We've known each other for a long time and I've never seen you act this way."

Viper sighed as curved her body to the right and struck with her tail, making Tigress leap.

"I might not be good with emotions of my own," Tigress said as she landed. "But I'm a good listener."

Viper sighed once more as they continued, a bit more slowly now. "He rejected me," she whispered.

"No way!"

"Yes… And then he came back and he was being all nice and saying he thought maybe we had a chance together…"

"When was this?"

"Yesterday…and last night. I just wanted to know if he felt the same. And I got hurt. And now I'm just so confused and ANGRY."

Viper swiped sharply and Tiger received a fierce whip at her ankle.

"Ow!"

"Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay. How about we talk more later over dinner? If you want we don't have to eat in the kitchen if he's in there."

"Thanks Tigress," Viper said as she smiled at her friend.

* * *

"Uh huh… Good… Great!"

"Po, I can't concentrate! Do you know how hard it is to fake Shifu's handwriting?"

"No."

"Well, it's hard, okay!"

Po sighed and crossed his arms as he continued his wait. "So, what do you think of the poem I came up with? Pretty sweet, huh?"

" 'Sweet' isn't the work I would use. But as far as poems go, I guess you did an okay job. I'm just not sure if Taia will buy it."

"Well it'll at least get her curious, and that's what we want."

"Hey guys," Mantis said, as he trudged into Crane's room, exhausted. "Let me guess, Po's being a nut job?"

"Yep."

"Sounds about right."

"Ha ha ha… Are you done yet?"

"Yes," Crane said, setting aside his brush and tossing the scrap of paper to Po. "Now GO AWAY."

"Great! Thanks Crane."

Crane sighed when Po slammed the door. Removing his hat, he walked over to one corner of his room and took out a canvas. He laid it on the floor and took another brush, dipped it into the ink and began to make gentle brush strokes along the paper.

"So," he said to Mantis. "Viper's mad."

"No kidding."

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know. I guess I just don't understand; I mean I apologized! I told her that maybe there was something between us after all. But she doesn't get it! I mean, can't she understand that I have issues?"

"Well, it's not really about you," Crane said as he continued to sweep the black ink down the paper canvas.

"What do you mean? And who are you to talk about love? Isn't Mei Ling still training at that school, instead of visiting you?"

"Mei Ling knows how I feel," he said quietly.

"What?"

"She's known for a while now. I couple of years I'd guess. She feels the same."

"Wait… If you both like each other than what-

"Are we doing apart," Crane finished for him. "Well, as much as we care about each other, we both have separate duties. She belongs at the Lee Da Academy, training herself and teaching others. I belong here, protecting the Valley and the Palace with you guys."

Mantis just stared at his feathery friend. Of the six younger Masters that resided at the Palace, Crane was always the most secretive. He was loyal and trustworthy, but he often kept to himself. The news was shock to him, and he found himself unable to comment.

"It's not always easy. Heck, it's never easy… But she would be miserable here, so far from her home. And hey, I could never leave you guys; we're a family!"

Crane set his brush aside and lifted the canvas so that Mantis could see a delicate inking of a Chinese mountain cat. She was in the middle of a pounce, toes just off the ground, and a playful smile on her lips.

"How can you do that…Be apart? I mean, I _just_ started realizing that I have feelings for Viper, and already it's killing me! How can you go through it day in and day out?"

Crane smiled wistfully as he looked at the ink drawing. "Because it means she's happy. As long as she's happy, I can be happy too. From what I know, love isn't about how you feel, or how you want things to go, or anything. It's about them. Making them happy, making sure they have what they need, sacrificing things for them… It's painful. But in a way, it's rewarding just to know that she's in a good place."

Mantis stared at his friend for a long time. Finally he bid the graceful bird goodnight, and left. He had a lot to think about.

* * *

**Crane knows what he's talking about. I'm glad that I got this done before Thanksgiving. Just a few notes: I've decided to put Crane and Mei Ling as more of a background topic. The kids as well are going to be side characters for a little while. I'm trying to throw in humor, but it's not my expertise… But hey, humor isn't everything, right? Anyway, I'm loving the reviews, and favorites, and follows. School's been AWFUL but I think I've been doing a half way decent job of updating. I hope everyone enjoys! **

**Also, I'm more than willing to except constructive criticism. So review away!**


	4. Surprise!

"Peace…Peace…Peace…"

_Knock knock knock_

"Come in…"

"Hey Shifu."

"Ah, I wanted to talk to you. Whatever punch you used on my eye last night was very effective. It is now very painful."

Taia winced. "Well, why don't you put ice on it?"

"I have decided to give myself a test of endurance."

"What," she scoffed. "A test of endurance? Oh that's smart! Stay here."

She came back a few minutes later and he was still in the meditation pose. She took advantage of this and walked straight over and smeared some goop on his closed eye.

"Agh!"

"Hold still, and DON'T open this eye. This'll make your eyelid go numb and speed up the healing process. But if you open your eye you'll go half-blind, so please follow instructions."

Shifu grunted and grumbled as she continued to rub the putrid mixture onto his eyelid. "Would you quit coddling me? I've been a man much longer than I've been a boy."

"I know. It's just one of those bad habits that you pick up from being a mommy."

"I wouldn't know."

Finally she took her fingers away and Shifu sighed with relief. True to her word, the stuff seemed to be working, as he could no longer feel the throbbing in his eye. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"No problem."

He almost violated the rule of not opening his eye when she plunked a kiss onto his forehead.

"What… Why… Why do you do that?"

"I'm just trying to show my affection for you," she said, shrugging as if it were obvious.

"What affection?"

She sighed and sat down in front of him, elbows on her knees. "Don't you get it? We're friends! We're allowed to care about each other!"

"Well yes but… Lately you've been acting as if we're not friends. As if we're more."

"Well…"

Instantly she was back in her dream. They were hugging. Then he leapt out… The deadly black cobra bit Shifu before slithering away, leaving his victim to die. Other images, even more gruesome came to her mind and she finally had to take a deep breath and calm herself.

"It's just… When She Du bit you, you were just laying there. Dying. And I couldn't do anything, I got so worried, and I was scared and-

She cut herself off before something far more serious could slip out.

"Oh, well, I suppose that's understandable," he replied, looking away.

The awkwardness grew and Shifu was relieved when she stood up to leave.

"Well, I guess I should probably go to bed."

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight," she said, and left for her own room.

He watched her walk away and sighed, still unsure what was going on with his female friend. While they'd been traveling together he'd felt certain feelings come to the surface, but they'd somehow dissipated. Or at least he thought so.

Unfolding the doors once more, he sighed and sat down. The Master quietly crossed his legs and resumed his meditation. It was far past dark when he finally blew out the candle and went to sleep.

* * *

_Shifu was bleeding… Bleeding… She Du was over him, laughing as if his puny mind had been obliterated. The blood seeped across the floor and soaked into the cuffs of her pants. _

_She heard a scream. She looked around wildly and saw Benji being trapped by his father._

"_Mom! Help! Help me!"_

_She tried to call out to him, but the blood had risen higher. She looked back and Shifu was gone, nothing but a pile of bones left behind. Struggling to move through the crimson river she saw Ban Lai turn back to her. His bloodshot eyes glowed through the darkness. Suddenly a knife flew into his gut and his skin peeled away leaving nothing but more bones._

_Her screams echoed as the torrent of blood slowly dragged her downward. _

"_AAAAA-_

-AAAAAGGH!"

She sat up, her throat hoarse, the blankets tangled about her. Stumbling out of bed, she made it over to a jug of water on the small table in her room. She took a handful and splashed it on her face, trying to wash away the memory of the blood, the guilt, the pain… And the sorrow…

"It's not your fault," she said, stumbling back to the bed. "You couldn't control it… Things are meant to happen in strange ways sometimes… Just calm down…"

Taia lay on the bed and breathed heavily, running her hands up and down her stomach in an attempt to soothe herself. She pushed away the dreams of what had happened at the Imperial Palace. Inside she felt another memory trying to come to the surface. She fought it back desperately, and won.

Finally feeling better, the lady sat up and looked outside her window. It would be morning soon. There was no point whatsoever in trying to go back to sleep. She quickly dressed and was about to leave her room when she stepped on a piece of paper.

She read it and- A poem? What the…

_Your eyes are green_

_Your fur snow white_

_How perfect you look_

_In the light_

_One moment you are sweet_

_The next so fierce_

_I must be honest_

_My heart has been pierced_

_Join me for dinner?_

_Some time after eight?_

_You won't regret it._

_And I won't be late._

And a pretty cheesy poem at that…

"Who is Po trying to fool? He obviously wrote this. But it's in Shifu's handwriting… Po could've forged it. He probably did. But it's kind of sweet to think Shifu would write me a poem. Of course he never would. Unless…"

She bit her lip in thought. She desperately wished that Shifu had written it. But it was so obviously a fake! Shifu was more poetic without even trying, without even talking! She scoffed and tossed the letter in the trash.

* * *

Shifu opened his eyes and rolled out of bed. He did himself up and was about to make his way down to the Barracks when he stepped on something. It was a piece of paper; a coupon. To Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu… It read offered a half price something or other with the purchase of something else.

Shifu was nobody's fool. He could easily guess that the Panda had left this here, intending for him to use to ask Taia to go to the shop with him for an evening alone. But he wouldn't let that panda win, oh no! He would use the coupon alright; use to get some time alone, away from women, children, and idiots.

He walked into the Hall of Warriors just as someone started banging at the door.

"Hello! I can't stand here all day you know!"

Shifu breathed in slowly as he opened the door to the Palace to greet Po's father.

"Greetings, Mr. Ping. How may I help you?"

"Oh hello Master Shifu! Nothing much; I just wanted to make sure that Po got this," he said and held out a jar to Shifu.

"And…what is this?"

"Oh, just some ointment. You see every year around this time Po gets a terrible rash on his-

"OKAy, thank you for dropping by, and I'll make sure he gets it," Shifu said, holding the jar away from his body.

"Thank you so much! I would've come by later, but today I'm going to be so busy! Everything on the menu is half price; with the purchase of a dessert of course."

"Of course. You know, now that you mention it Mr. Ping, perhaps you could set aside a small table for me?"

Mr. Ping looked at Shifu from an angle. "Why? Do you have a date or something?"

"No!"

"Really, because the other day it looked you were really interested in that lady you were with-

"I said no!" Shifu sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I just thought it would be nice to go out to eat somewhere by myself. I never do that, and besides, I happen to have a coupon."

"Oh I see," Mr. Ping nodded when Shifu showed off the coupon. "And that's a good one too!"

"Yes, your son gave it to me."

* * *

Taia peeked in on Hope. The little girl was still asleep, so she quietly shut the door and walked down the hall. She reached the The Hall **(AN: Not just any hall; THE HALL)** and stopped when she heard voices. Peeking in, she saw Shifu and Po's father talking. Feeling mischievous, she hid behind one of the dragon bound pillars to listen.

"I just thought it would be nice to get some time alone," Shifu was saying.

"Oh, well who can blame you? With the training and the kids, you guys never get any time to yourselves."

"Precisely. So you can get me a table?"

"I'm sure I can work something out. What time?"

"Hm… I'd say somewhere around eight o'clock or later."

Taia's heart did a back flip as she watched Mr. Ping leave and Shifu walked outside. Time alone? Away from training and kids? _Eight o'clock?_ Maybe Shifu _had_ written the idiotic poem!

Or it was an insane coincidence… But even then, suppose Shifu went to the shop expecting to have an evening by himself and she showed up? They could talk, eat, laugh, maybe have a drink or two… And afterward they'd walk home and it would be dark; maybe the sky would be clear and maybe the moon would light the way home and-

"Whoa," she told herself, as all of the romance stories her sister used to make her listen to were suddenly affecting her thoughts. "Is this a good idea?"

She thought about it. And then she came to a conclusion: "YES!"

* * *

"You're doing what?"

"Going out by myself. Why is that so hard to understand?"

Tigress raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me Master, it's just that you don't really ever do that."

"Well tonight I do. So, like I said, make sure that everyone else cleans up after dinner. Goodnight."

Tigress stared after her Master as he made his way down the mountain of steps. Going out? What? This was so unlike him!

Still not sure what to think, she went back inside the Palace and decided to converse with Viper about it and so set off for the Barracks. When she was just outside the building she heard discussion going on inside already.

"So Shifu's already going down there?"

"Yeah, I guess Po's plan actually worked. Crazy, isn't it?"

Tigress walked in. "No kidding," she told Monkey and Crane. "So this was part of his plan? Sending Shifu down there with a coupon?"

Po poked his head into the kitchen where the others were currently gathered. "What coupon? I didn't give him a coupon."

Just then Viper came in, avoiding eye contact with Mantis. "Hey guys, Taia wants us to watch the kids for a while. Po I read the poem, and it wasn't great, but I think it worked pretty well."

"What poem," Po asked, looking completely confused.

"Uh, the poem you made me slave over all of last night," Crane shouted.

Po's eyes widened. "Yeah, but I didn't give that to Taia yet! I was waiting for a better time; lately it looked kind of like she was having issues what with the kids and whatever, so I decided to hold off on it."

"Wait a minute," Mantis said. "If you didn't leave the coupon-

Or the poem," said Crane.

"Then who did?" Everyone asked this at the same time and looked at each other, wide eyed.

* * *

She'd had to promise twenty games of hide and seek, a batch of cookies, and a trip to buy the kids new toys to replace the ones that they'd lost in their old house, but finally the loveable little demons had allowed her to leave. Taia looked down at herself and straightened out the bright red jacket she'd found in one of the old trunks. It had a fiery pattern on the sleeves and collar, which was perfect because she felt pretty hot wearing it.

Ahead of her, Shifu had already reached the shop. He listened to the welcoming clamor of the different diners that had come from far and wide to taste Mr. Ping's food. Breathing in the smell of the different dishes, Shifu's night had barely started and already he felt it was perfect. Walking in the comfortable layout of the restaurant hit him; Mr. Ping waved him over to a cozy little two person table in the back corner. Shifu got settled in and lifted a menu to see what exactly he wanted to order.

"Well there you are!"

This sudden girlish squeal caused him to drop his menu and then his jaw as he spotted the person who was responsible.

She giggled slightly at his dumbfounded expression and sat herself down opposite of him; under normal conditions he might have wondered what made her think that she could just sit down without invitation. But these were not normal conditions.

"I was hoping that those coupons would lure you down here, Shifu," the vixen said with a charming smile. In his shock it occurred to him that she had scarcely aged, and instead looked even more beautiful than her teenage years. Her warm, cinnamon fur was as silky as ever, her tail still soft, her cocoa bean eyes shining. He felt a knot form in his stomach as he finally registered what she had said, and forced himself to speak.

"Lila?" Her name was all he could manage for now. His tongue felt gluey, and sweat was beginning to form on his palms, as well as a few other unmentionable places.

"Ah, so you remember me then?"

"H-how could I n-not?" A valid question, he thought. After what she'd put him through… She seemed to read his mind and a shadow of sadness came over her lovely face.

"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that…But you were never the type to forget. That was why I had to get you away from the Palace. I was afraid you'd get mad at me and so I thought I'd have a better chance of getting you to listen if we met in public."

"Well, you thought wrong."

He started to get up but she grabbed his hands he froze halfway between sitting and standing.

"Shifu, I'm sorry! I was sixteen! My friends were popular, and I cared about the reputation I had!"

"Your reputation for being a heartbreaker?"

"Please, will you listen? That was a long time ago. We were young, and I cared what other people thought. I really did like you."

"But that wasn't cool, was it?"

"No. But I've changed!"

He snorted bitterly. "Why should I believe that? Look, Lila, like you said, it was a long time ago and I really don't feel like bringing it back up-

Before he could finish his sentence she grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward to kiss him. As if on cue, Mr. Ping walked over to take his order.

"Okay Master Shifu, what looks goo- huh?"

Ping just stared. It was the LAST thing he expected to ever see in his lifetime. And what made it worse was when he finally looked away to see Taia standing there, her mouth agape, looking as if she was having trouble breathing.

Shifu, unaware of who might be watching, began to remember things. The first time he'd met Lila and gotten a warm feeling all over. The next time they'd met, years later, when she'd been sent to study at the Palace; when he heard she'd be arriving his heart had soared. The day when he'd finally asked her to have dinner with him, and she'd accepted. Now, after breaking his heart years ago by breaking off the relationship and laughing at him along with her friends who had dared her to go with him in the first place, she was back. Kissing him the way he used to silently beg for her to.

He became overwhelmed and pushed her back into her seat, gasping for air. He didn't notice Taia running away from the shop, or Ping walking away, shaking his head, confused.

* * *

Taia reached the top of the steps and pushed her way through the doors. She slammed them shut once more and dashed to her room. She barely had time to shut the door and bury her face in the fabric of her bed before a few salty tears began to run.

"_Breathe…Breathe…Calm yourself down…It doesn't matter…You don't care what he was doing with her…"_

It was a lie of course; in her misery she was able to realize, finally, just how heavy her affections for him weighed in her heart. She forced herself to stop the tears, and reduced her sobbing to quiet sniffs.

"Maybe he didn't even know her?" She wondered aloud. "Maybe she just showed up and decided to-

"Hey Taia?"

The voice was accompanied by a knock at her door. Wiping away any traces that she had been crying, she walked over and opened the door to see Po and Monkey standing there.

"So uh, done anything interesting this evening?"

"Like what?"

"Oh uh, I don't know, like uh, maybe go on a date with a random stalker?"

"No."

"Oh. Well good! You know, that's great."

"Po, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, sure thing."

"Why did you forge Shifu's handwriting and write me a poem?"

Po looked at Monkey for help. The primate shook his head at the confusing situation and said, "Po had Crane write that; but the weird thing is that he didn't actually leave it in front of your door."

"What?"

"I was waiting for the perfect time," the panda explained.

"Well then who," she stopped when she heard a flutter of footsteps. Her jaw set and she narrowed her eyes. "Kids!"

Li and Benji's heads popped out from behind the next door over. "Yes mother dear," they sing-songed."

"Busted."

"Aw man," Benji grumbled.

"I told you she'd figure it out," Li said.

"You said that? You're the one who planted it!"

"Yeah, well you went into Po's room and took it!"

"You went in my room?"

"How else was I going to get to your action figures?"

Taia sighed. "What made you think that leaving that note was a good idea?"

Benji scuffed his toe on the floor. Li spoke up, "We got tired of you dating weirdoes."

"What? I haven't gone out with anyone in a long time!"

"Yeah, but the last time you did go out it was with a weirdo," Benji said.

Li nodded and added, "Besides, you've been working a lot lately and we wanted you to take a break."

"Seriously Mom, it's been forever since we've even done anything together."

Taia looked at the kids and gave them a half grin for their good intentions. It was true; she'd been neglecting her babies. "Well," she said, going over to them. "No more of this poem business; got it Po?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And as for you, squirts," she continued, "Why don't we go do something right now? Anything you want."

"Hide and seek?"

"Anything but that!"

It took a while but they wore her down and dragged her off to play the game she so hated. Monkey looked at Po and said, "Looks like you're off the hook."

"And boy am I lucky," Po said, wiping his brow.

* * *

Shifu sighed as he shut the Palace door behind himself and walked in the direction of his room. He was about to go lay down when he noticed Taia looking around in the Library area of the hall. He watched as she took a scroll off the shelf, looked at the contents and put it back.

"Hello," he said.

She jumped and turned to look at him. "Oh, you're home."

"So it would seem."

Taia rolled her eyes at his joke. "So, uh, how's your evening been? Mine was okay. I spent two hours playing hide and seek."

"I thought you didn't like that game?"

"To be honest it's growing on me now; Hope was so cute! She kept getting confused and jumping out whenever I came to look for them. I wish you'd been there. You know she's still waiting to play checkers with you.

He sighed. "I promise to do it when I get the chance. But for now I'm too exhausted to do anything."

"Yeah, too exhausted from kissing her," she grumbled in a tone that she thought he couldn't hear. She was wrong.

"What?"

"Uh…"

"Were you down there," he asked, looking terrified and embarrassed. "Did you go down to the village? Did you see Lila-

"THAT WAS LILA? YOU IDIOT! What do you think you're doing dating your ex-girlfriend?"

"I'm NOT DATING HER! Okay! She showed up out of nowhere and started talking about forgiveness and how she was feeling guilty and then she started kissing me!"

Taia let out a half growl half roar. "And what did you do then? Huh?"

Shifu found himself unable to look Taia in the eye. "We had dinner," he said guiltily.

"WHAT?"

"It was just one meal!"

"Did you two kiss goodnight?"

"…"

"DID YOU?"

"…yes…"

"UUUGGHH!"

He looked at the floor as she stomped around berating him.

"What are you thinking right now? Are you thinking? It doesn't seem like you are! Shifu, she didn't just break your heart, she ripped it out and fed it to her rotten little friends! And guess who had to put you back together? Me! I did everything for you for two weeks! I dragged you out of bed, made you eat, and let you cry on my shirt!"

"I only cried once…"

"Yeah but it lasted for an hour. Shifu she made you miserable!"

"That was a long time ago," he pointed out. "And she's changed considerably since then."

"How so?"

He rubbed his neck and squirmed a bit under her gaze. "I don't know… She's sweeter. She's gentler. She speaks so softly and she just-

He stopped when he saw her glare increase in its intensity.

"So that's what you like in women? Quiet little things that will stab you in the back!'

"There's no guarantee she'll stab me in the back. Furthermore she's only going to be here for a week. She's in town on business."

"What business? Heartbreak?"

"She's the head of her father's trading route now."

"So she's still daddy's little princess?"

"Well her father died recently so I'm not sure if it counts. Why are you being this way? Normally you're willing to give people a second chance. You gave me one after…after what I did."

Taia tried to stay angry but his words were true and she felt herself deflating. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll try to get along with her. But I promise nothing."

"Thank you. I don't plan on developing a serious relationship; nothing beyond friendship. Speaking of friendship, could we have breakfast in the garden tomorrow? I'd like to talk more about all of this and I'm too tired right now. Besides it's always a pleasure to see your cheerful face in the morning."

Did her knees just wobble a little?

"Sure thing bud," she said in a voice close to a whisper.

"Thank you so much. This is all very stressful for me. I'm glad to have someone like you to turn to. I have to go meditate now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She reached forward to pat him on the shoulder and got a pleasant surprise: He kissed her hand. And not on the back; he lifted her hand from his shoulder and placed a quick yet affectionate peck to her palm and squeezed it before leaving for the Peach Tree. Taia couldn't hide her pleasure as she went back to her room, cradling and smiling down at her hand the whole way. She crawled into bed and made plans to make him steamed cooked rice in the morning.

"With cinnamon," she whispered as she fell asleep.

* * *

**I've been putting off asking for a while now because it feels awkward but: If any of the many talented artist that I know visit this site ever felt like drawing Taia or one of my other characters for me, I would greatly appreciate it. I'd really just like to see what it would be like if they came to life. **

**Also, those of you who might not remember, I did mention Lila at one point in the original story; it was more than just a pointless mention after all! **

**Now that that's out of the way, I want to say THANK YOU for the awesome reviews I've been getting! The Favorites and Follows are great too! Again, I accept constructive criticism. **


	5. Ouch

Li squirmed in her sleep. Someone was making noise. Finally she could ignore it no longer and hopped out of bed to go tell off whoever it was. The green eyed rabbit stepped into the hallway and looked around. Twisting her ears around, she realized it was coming from across the hall, in Benji's room.

Upon opening the door, she saw Benji sitting in bed, grasping his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" She walked closer and heard him sniff hard and noticed him wiping his nose.

"I just don't feel so great," he rasped.

"Should I get Mom?"

"No!"

"But-

"No! Go away! I don't want her to know!"

Too tired and sympathetic to argue, Li trudged back to her room and went to sleep. In his bed Benji tried to go back to sleep but now he was afraid. Afraid of when his mother would find out.

…**..**

Po stretched to shrug off his sleepiness as he entered the kitchen, already mentally forming an action plan for breakfast, when he noticed the scent and sound of someone already cooking.

He peered into the kitchen to see Taia stirring a pot on the stove.

"Trying to muscle in on my job, huh?"

"Well at least this way people might be able to get their food on time everyday," she snarked in reply.

"Are you calling me lazy? By the way you might want to make that fire a little hotter so that the rice will cook all the way through."

She turned to look at him with one raised eyebrow, making herself appear indignant. "Are you saying I can't cook?"

"Are you saying that you can?"

She turned back around and rolled her eyes. "So I'm not a chef. So what? I'm still awesome."

"That you are. Now will you let me help?"

Knowing there was no point in arguing, Taia raised her hands in defeat and Po crossed the kitchen to assist her. They were just starting to spoon the rice into bowls when Viper slithered in, looking as lovely as ever.

"Hi guys! That smells delicious!"

"Want some?" Taia offered her a bowl and chop sticks.

"Oh, yes!"

Viper took the bowl gratefully and was about to sit down at the table when Mantis entered the room. With an inward sigh of frustration and sadness, she announced, "I think I'll go eat in the Library."

Mantis turned to watch as Viper slithered past him and out the door. He turned back around and sighed.

"You still haven't talked to her?"

"No," Mantis told Po. "She won't listen. I feel bad about what I said, I want to apologize, but she won't give me the time of day."

"I don't know exactly what you're talking about so I'm going to listen instead of taking part."

"Gee, thanks for the announcement Tai."

"Eat your rice," she commanded, shoving a bowl in front of him. Before he could protest she sprinkled on a bit of cinnamon and shoved a chopstick-full into his mouth.

"Mmowmomwmw!"

"What?" Po asked.

"Mis is momisis!"

"What?" Taia asked.

"I said: this is delicious!" With a flourish Mantis stuffed another large amount of rice in his mouth.

"Alright, teamwork!" Po offered Taia a high five (or four, in Taia's case) and she accepted, smacking her palm to his. Once that was over with, Taia left to wake up the kids and Po sat down in front of Mantis.

"Mantis, do you really care about Viper?"

The little warrior looked up at his much larger friend and said, "Yes. Yes I do. She's been my friend for a long time, and she's one of the sweetest, nicest, best looking people I know. I'm willing to apologize and do anything she wants to make her happy. But if she can't even listen to me, I don't know what to do."

Po sighed. "Mantis, call me crazy, but this situation isn't entirely your fault."

"Really? No!"

Down the hall Taia was gently trying to wake her daughters.

"Rise and shine lazybones!"

Or maybe not so gently…

Li stumbled out of her room rubbing her eyes, yawning, and glaring contemptibly at her mother for having to wake up so early.

"Benji, that means you too!"

Her call was met with silence. Then a weak groan came from the young red panda boy's room.

Several scenarios involving blood and vomit and emergency doctor calls flashed through her mind before Taia yanked the door open and walked as calmly as possible to her son's bedside.

Benji was buried deep in his cocoon of blankets, his were eyes glazed, and thin beads of sweat glistened on his white furred forehead. The bandages on his cranial wound had loosened in the night and hung limply atop his patch of thick black hair. Then, as if the sight couldn't become more pitiful, a rattling cough shook his body. By the time he finished hacking his mouth with open in a silent cry of pain from his injured head being shaken up.

Taia shook her head in disbelief. "Benji! Sweetheart, when did all of this start?"

"Last night." Li answered for her brother. "His head was hurting and his nose was running but he didn't want to bother you."

"What? Benji, why would you think you were bothering me? You're supposed to tell me when you're hurt, no matter what!"

With a whimpering croak Benji answered, "You said you were gonna take us to get new stuff. And now that I'm sick I hafta stay by myself and-."

His tearful speech was interrupted then by another bout of coughing, which left him in real tears, and grasping his head. Taia sent Li out of the room and sat Benji up slowly in order to help his breathing. She gently rubbed his back as he coughed again, and kissed his head gently.

"Why would I leave you alone when you're sick?"

"'cause that's what always happens," Benji said, his voice quivering with sadness as she leaned him against her chest. "Whenever I need you, you go away 'cause someone else needs you more."

"When-

"Like whenever you promised to be home for dinner and you were out saving someone. And when you couldn't take us camping or on a picnic like you said would. And you never even tell us stories like you used to 'cause you're always too busy making sure everyone else is safe."

Taia pressed her lips together not sure what to say.

"And then you left and I got scared that something bad was gonna happen 'cause bad stuff always happens when I'm around and you're not. And then HE found me again…"

A shiver shot through his body as he remembered the bloodshot eyes, cold and hate filled as they looked down at him.

"Benji," Taia finally said, snapping him from the memory. "I had no way of knowing that-that… That HE would come back. And if I had I would have stayed with you; you should know that. Now why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry. I always try not to be selfish but-

"Wanting to spend time with your busy parent isn't selfish; it's normal for any kid your age. In fact I would be hurt if you didn't want me around more. You are one of the most unselfish people I know. I love you."

She said the last part in one of the most tender tones Benji had ever heard her speak in, and it cause him to bury his face in her chest. Being sick is bad, but being sick, while emotionally conflicted is worse, and Benji still had a few tears to shed over both. Relief washed over the little boy as his mother stroked his back and rocked him. It brought memories back to both of them, of a painful time when he did not trust the woman who taken and then plunked him down into a strange house with strange people. But no matter how many times he had kicked, screamed, and tried to fight off her love, she had always come back for more.

"You know I'd never allow any one to get away with hurting you, right?"

"Mmhm," he mumbled into her chest.

"Good. Now, no more crying. Today we are going to focus on getting you up to snuff."

"But what about-

"The girls will still want to go shopping, yes, so I'll send them with Viper. And I'll make sure they get a toy for you." She stood up and leaned him back into his pillow again. "How does that sound?"

Benji scrunched his face in thought. "Can I have the red and green dragon set?"

"The _red and green dragons_? Oh no, we can't _possibly_ manage that! Do I look like I'm made of money?"

She smiled at her son's amused laughs until he had to grip his head from pain. "Also, I'm going to send Zeng down to the village to get you some medicine."

"Is Zeng that weird guy who always looks like he's gonna pee himself?"

"Yes."

"I thought so."

It was her turn to laugh as she went to the door. "Now get some rest kid. I'm going to see if I can get Po started on some noodle soup. Does that sound good? Benji?"

She turned to look at him and realized that he was already asleep. Tip-toeing over, she pulled the covers over him, kissed his forehead, and made a mental note to never forget put her kids in second place again; even when it came to Shifu.

…**..**

It was appropriate that she thought of Shifu at that moment. He was having some emotional turmoil of his own.

"Where did you go sweetie?"

He tried to hold his breath so that she wouldn't look up. Lila was pretty. As in pretty good at discovering his hiding places. Perched within the bamboo stalks, he watched as she looked around for her 'snuggles'.

_She won't find me…_

"Hi Snuggles!"

With a shout he leapt to another stalk and stared at Lila and her zealous smile.

"How did you-

"Oh, I'm a good climber"

He spun around on the stalk to see where she'd managed to pop up behind him again.

"Lila, how on Earth are you-

"You're so cute when you get surprised." She sighed as she hung upside down in front of him.

Before she had the chance to pop up again, he leaned back on his stalk and sprung forward.

_Swish!_

At the right second he let go, grabbed onto the next one, and soon had a steady rhythm.

_Swish!_

Yes, Lila was pretty.

_Swish!_

But she made him so _uncomfortable._ And he didn't even know why.

_Swish!_

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had an idea why.

_Swish!_

It had something to do with green eyes.

_Swish!_

He wished he could tell her. Anything, even a beating, would be better than this silence between them.

_Swish!_

Why had he let it go this long? And why had he tried to start something with Lila? And why wasn't he watching where he was go-

SMACK!

-ing.

"Aw, are you okay?"

"Peachy."

…

Benji happily slurped his soup and listened as his mother read from one of the ancient scrolls. Hope and Li had come home about half an hour ago, proudly showing off their new 'ensembles' (whatever that meant; Benji never cared to ask about Li's fancy vocabulary). They had also gotten him some stuff with the money Taia had provided; they'd even sprung for toys, getting him a set of wooden dragons, one red one green. They'd all played together for a little while, Li with her new (creepy) marionette, and Hope with her new stuffed octopus, whom she had named Bubbles.

As nice as it had been, he was even happier now, just sitting and listening to his mother reciting ancient legends.

"-the beast reared his mighty head, fangs gleaming, eyes alight and lunged-

Taia stopped mid-sentence when Shifu, panting, ran into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine… Po told me…Benji wasn't…feeling well…so I thought that…I should…visit."

"I'm great," Benji said as loudly as possible in a scratchy voice. "Check out my dragons!"

Taia stood up. "It was nice of you to come see him." She crossed her arms in front of her. "But Benji really needs to relax."

"I understand." He spoke slowly, somewhat surprised at her harsh tone. "I just-

"I understand and thank you, but it'd be best if you went away."

Shifu stared at her. Her arms were crossed, green eyes burning.

"Well isn't this something," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "The woman I don't like won't leave me alone and the woman that I do like is mad at me!"

"What?"

"Oh, don't act surprised – that's just insulting! We're both fully aware of how we feel for each other! Can we please quit all of this tiptoeing around one another?"

"What? No I-I-I-

"Stop stammering and say you love me!"

"_What?_ No! Leave me alone!"

She felt behind her and fumbled for the door handle, desperate to get away from him; he was bringing up an issue that she was trying to forget.

"Why are you so stubborn?" After he voiced this question, he kissed her. No warning, just kissed her. A few seconds later he was holding his gut, trying to breathe normally.

"How _dare _you?" She stomped down the hallway, trying to decide which part of the Training Hall she should destroy first. Before she could reach the door to the Barracks, she ran into Lila.

"_You're _still here?" They asked this of each other, eyes wide.

Taia glared. "If you're looking for your boyfriend he's back there."

"Boyfriend? Is that what he says he is," she asked, looking hopeful.

"No, that's just I assume the two of you were. Get out of my way."

"You were always so rude when we were younger! You haven't changed a bit!"

"I could say the same for you, you prissy little brat!"

"Ugh! Shifu! Taia's insulting me! Make her run laps or something!"

"Oh, go jump off a cliff the both of you," Taia shouted, slamming the door to the Barracks behind her.

Shifu grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly exhausted. Then he remembered something. He slowly opened the hall door.

"Wooow," Benji said, staring at him. "You're in big trouble!"

Shifu grunted again, sad to think that he was right.

"Hey, Master Shifu!"

What now? "Yes Crane?"

"Junjie and his leopards just showed up for a visit."

"Well then we must be hospitable. Let's go."

He brushed roughly past Lila on his way to the Hall of Heroes. He was ready to fight Junji and then go to bed. It'd already been a very long day.

…**..**

**Those of you who don't know it, Junjie is one of the villains off of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. He and Shifu trained together when they were younger and Junjie's always had a bit of an inferiority complex.**

**I could pour out with apologies about how long it's taken to update this, but the fact is that I've been really busy, and I will be for another week or so. Just a heads up.**

**I really appreciate and love the feedback you guys have been giving me. Thanks for your patience!**


	6. Tricks

Junjie looked up at the vast and ancient structure, the great door embedded with jade. How lovely it was to be back at the Palace. HIS Palace, it would soon be, if everything went according to plan. He'd been studying the activities of the Palace extensively for the past week, and it had delighted him to see the return of Taia. In their youth the two had often clashed, but of course that was her way of showing affection. It was a shame that he would have to do this to her, but the Jade Palace had to be his… He deserved it… He'd worked too hard for too long to see everything go to Shifu. With his careful planning, and a bit of luck, things would be set right once more.

"You all know the plan?" He asked of his five leopard students.

"Yes master," they whispered in unison.

"Good." He turned around to face them. They were lined in a perfect row and he looked to the one on the end, the lone female of the group. "Get to work," he told her. She nodded sharply and ran off to take care of her part. "The rest of you, come with me," Junjie resumed. "It's time to say hello to our old friends."

…**..**

"Call me crazy, but I'm kind of glad they're here," Po was saying. "It felt weird to not have to fight anyone lately."

"Well we can't all be so fortunate in our amounts of off time."

"Yes, thank you Crane, for being a wet blanket as usual."

"Sorry to interrupt your banter, but what's going on now?"

Po and the Five looked over to where Taia entered from the side. The six of them pointed to the great door where five leopards and a red fox were casually strolling in. Taia's jaw dropped. _"Junjie?"_

"Surprised?" Junjie asked while wearing his usual too-smug-for-his-own-good expression.

"Not really," she said. "You always had a habit of showing up at a horrible time."

Without hesitation the two leapt head on into combat, the students right behind them.

"You know Taia, you haven't changed a bit," Junjie said as he leapt to avoid a sweeping kick.

"Neither have you," she replied while having to dodge to avoid a punch. "I must say, you've aged well.

"Really?"

"Yes actually; you're a distinguished kind of ugly."

With a growl Junjie jumped out at her, only to be kicked out of the way by Shifu. Taia glared. "I was handling it."

"I was just trying to help-

"Well don't help!"

Junjie said, "I hate to interrupt, but I didn't come here to listen to the two of you argue over relationship problems."

"Then get out!" Taia swung her fist angrily at the annoying fox. He easily deflected her, but had to dodge to avoid another attack from Shifu. Soon it was a three way fight. Monkey and Crane were holding their own against a pair of leopards, while Tigress, Viper, and Po ganged up on the other two. Mantis dodged in out between the two groups, helping where he could. He saw one leopard unsheathe his claws, aiming them at Viper. As fast as he could, he leapt forward and hit a nerve point on the cat's paw that made the claws shoot back inside.

"You're welcome," he whispered to Viper as he hopped off to defend Monkey.

Suddenly, as soon as the fight had started, Junjie ended it. He raised a hand and signaled for his students to follow him the spotted cats leapt away from their opponents and dashed out the door.

"I'll see you all soon," Junjie muttered, with a pointed look at Taia. Then he left. The masters looked at one another, thoroughly confused.

"That's it? That was pathetic," Taia said.

Tigress nodded. "Usually they at least stay long enough for us to officially win."

"Yeah," Po cried. "They're usually not this lame."

"Yes, you're right… Junjie never quits anything, even when he should."

"Hey," Crane said. "I just realized something… Aren't there usually five leopards?"

"You're right," Viper said. "And they're always together."

"Maybe number five is just on sick leave?"

"Not likely Mantis."

"Mom!" Everyone looked and saw Li run in, followed by Benji who was holding his head."

"What-

"HOPE'S GONE!"

…**..**

The female leopard gently cradled the sleeping girl. "Good work," her master said. It hadn't taken very long to reach their little hideaway at the base of the mountains. Now all they had to do was wait.

…**..**

"MY BABY!" Taia shrieked.

"Was that necessary," Shifu asked, wondering if he would ever hear properly again.

"WHO CARES?"

"Okay, we need to split into groups. Tigress, Po, and Monkey search in the forest. Mantis, Viper, and Crane will search the surrounding farms. I will go to the mountains with Taia-

"And me!"

Everyone stared at the spot where Lila had randomly popped up.

"No," Taia said, firmly.

"I'm just trying to help you. It's not like I'm heartless."

"You wanna bet?"

"Okay," Shifu interjected before a cat fight could start. "The rest of you go now." The younger masters headed out in search of Hope. Shifu turned to Taia. "I know you don't like her, but she's offering assistance in finding your daughter. Shouldn't you take advantage of that?"

Taia sighed. "Fine. But wait, I can't leave!" She grabbed her remaining children and squeezed them tight. "What if part of Junjie's plan is to come back and take Li and Benji while we're out searching?"

Shifu stroked his beard. "Granted it's a possibility. Someone should stay behind to watch them."

"Good, then we're agreed; you stay here and I'll go look."

"Okay, I- Wait, what?"

Taia pushed the kids into Shifu's arms. "Shifu, I can't stay here and wonder what's happening to Hope; I have to look for her. I'm entrusting you with my children. You should know that's a big job."

"Yeah, we're irreplaceable," Li said in a sing-song voice. Shifu glared at her and looked at Taia. "Oh fine. But Lila has to go with you."

"Hey wait, I don't want to-

"You're going with her Lila."

The vixen stomped after Taia in a huff. When they'd reached the bottom of the mountain, she turned to the red panda and said, "I hope you don't think I'm stupid."

"Well then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"I saw him kiss you. I know you love him."

"My, aren't you just a little genius? Do you also know what a brat you are?"

"Oh yes, because it's impossible for me to have changed in, what, _forty years?"_

"Will you just shut up for one minute? This isn't about you! I'm trying to find my daughter, not listen to you whine. If you want pity then you can turn around and go home."

Lila stopped. "You don't get it, do you? You think I came to try to trick Shifu or something, don't you?"

"Well-

"_Well! _You're wrong!"

Lila shoved her past Taia, who just threw her hands in the air and sighed. This was officially one of the most confusing nights of her life.

**Hey guys. I got caught up in this writing contest, and this extracurricular stuff at school. I'm going to try to be more faithful too it, though I have been getting easily distracted lately, as you can probably tell.**

**Also, I resolve to refrain from needless pandering and pop-culture references. They just don't work, and good writers shouldn't have to rely on them.**

**I seriously appreciate all of the support I've been getting; I mean, who gets almost 30 reviews for FIVE chapters? That's just insane! And AWESOME! I love your support, and I'm sorry I've been ignoring my readers. I plan to have the chapter-after-next dedicated solely to Man/Vi. Also: LILA IS NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS…. So yeah… I'm just gonna end it hear. R&R please! **


	7. El Fin

"I'm not touching you."

"Gr.."

"Not touching you…"

"Ergh!"

"…I'm not…touching…you…."

"GAH!"

Shifu grunted tiredly as Li and Benji began to scuffle again. And again, he hauled Benji off his sister and scolded him for partaking in such activities while he was still recovering from his injuries. Why were these children's activities so repetitive?

"Shifu?"

"Yes Li?"

The rabbit shuffled a bit. "Is Hope going to be okay?"

He sighed. "I don't know."

"Well can't you go find out," Benji questioned.

"Yes, I am capable of finding out, but I won't go because your mother has entrusted me with the job of looking after the two of you."

Benji stared at him. "You could have just said no."

"So sorry," he muttered.

"Master Shifu," Tigress said as she entered the hall, closely followed by the Po and the rest of the Five. "We've looked everywhere. Junjie must be hiding out in the mountains."

"Yes, that is most likely," Shifu said, while pacing. "But the more I think about it the stranger it seems. Junjie isn't the type to kidnap unless it involves blackmailing someone, or using them as bait- Wait!" He looked around wildly. "How long were you gone?"

"About two hours, I'd say."

"Taia should have been back by now."

Po gasped. "That was his plan! Capture the kid, lure Taia, capture her, and then lure you!"

"Then he'd be able to get rid of you and find a way to take your place as master," Crane added.

"Oh, he is an evil genius," Po said.

"Yes, he is," Shifu agreed. "And now we need to outsmart him."

Mantis raised a claw. "I have an idea. I think we-

"Uh, hey, I have an idea too," Viper interrupted.

"Well that's great, but I already started talking, so-

"So we should all just do whatever you want, right?"

"Why can't you just listen to me for once-!"

"Why are you always so-?"

"Stop it, the two of you, stop it! Three people's lives are at stake and you're standing around arguing! Now listen to me," Shifu commanded, "This is what we are going to do."

* * *

"For the record, I blame you for this."

"For the record, you seem to blame me for everything."

"Oh, will you two please stop squabbling like the old hens you are? Honestly I can't believe it's taken this long. You'd think Shifu would have noticed by now that his sweetheart had gone missing," Junjie groaned as he reclined in his bamboo chair. It had been difficult but he'd managed to beat Taia and chain her to the fox woman. The two were now suspended from the ceiling while the child remained in her cage.

"Pfft," Lila scoffed. "Her, sweet? I don't think so."

"Yes, sweet is more your department, isn't it Miss-I'm-obsessed-with-Shifu?"

"Hey, I'm not obsessed! I came back to try and make up with him, okay? Don't you trust anyone?"

"No. Virtually everyone I know is a backstabber."

"Even me, Mama?"

"No, not you sweetie," Taia called to her daughter. "Just all of the adults."

"Well now I'm insulted," Junjie quipped. "Of all my old friends I thought you at least would be somewhat forgiving; especially after what we had together."

Lila gasped. "That's how I know you! You're that dork that she used to date!"

"We weren't dating," Taia snapped. "We were just two lonely people who hung out together."

"If that's what you want to call it," Junjie mumbled.

"Shut it, you!"

"You'd do well to realize that you are in no position to make threats," he said as he got up and made his way to the door. "After all there is a river nearby, afterall."

Taia froze as he continued, "I remember how much you used to love the water."

Junjie left the room with his usual smirk playing on his lips. Lila craned her head as far as she could to look at Taia. "Wait, so you're afraid of water?"

"No, I just don't like it, okay," she snapped.

Lila turned back around. "Okay, if you say so. It's okay to be afraid, though."

For once instead of shouting at Lila, Taia let her body go limp against the chains. She let out a long sigh. "I know." For a few moments the three of them sat in silence, Taia and Lila dangling from the ceiling and Hope sucking her thumb again.

Taia broke the silence with, "So what's your deal?"

"What?"

"You keep saying you've changed; how have you changed? And how'd it happen? People don't change over night; believe me I know. Usually something big has to happen. So what's your story?"

Lila was quiet for a moment. Then she asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked. Besides, right now I have nothing better do, except maybe wallow in self pity, and I try to refrain from doing that."

"Okay, well, here it goes… A few years after I left the Jade Palace and the Valley of Peace, I found out that when I was a baby my father had gotten into debt with a rich and dangerous, man. So, in order to get out of it he-

"Promised that you would marry the guy as soon as you were old enough?"

"Yes," Lila groaned at the memory. "And by the time I was of age, he was so OLD! Our wedding day was the worst day of my entire life!"

"And I'm going to assume that the wedding night didn't go much better," Taia said, wincing with pity.

"No! And you know what else? When I saw how old he was I asked my father how long I would have to be married to him before he died. Daddy guessed at about five or ten years. You know what that guy did? He stayed alive for another TWENTY-TWO YEARS! When he finally died I danced on his grave! But then a few months later, Daddy died. I'd hated him for giving me away like that but…"

Lila's voice broke a little and she ceased talking. Taia finished for her. "You still loved him?"

"Yes," Lila said, a tear soaking into the fur on her cheek. "He always made sure that I was still taken care of. When he died I was all alone again. I got married again, and when that didn't work out I tried again with someone else, and again with another guy. None of them worked out."

"So that's why you came to see Shifu," Taia asked. "You were husband hunting again?"

"No, not exactly, I just… Well you see I remembered back to when we were together. He was always sweet. He worked so hard to make sure I was happy."

"That's the kind of guy he is," Taia whispered.

"I know," Lila replied, "And I really did like him when we were together. But I found out that my friends thought he was a dork and…I was stupid enough to value their opinions over him. I thought I could make up for it or something if I came back… But it's way too late. He doesn't feel the same anymore, and I don't blame him."

"Wow," Taia said after a moment. "I guess you have changed. That's..nice."

"Um, thank you? And also, you might want to take advantage of the fact that Shifu loves you. He's a good guy and you don't wan to lose him. Believe me, I know."

Taia bit her lip. "You know, I really-

"Mommy?"

The two women looked down to see Hope sticking her head out of her cage. They both wondered how long she had been listening to the conversation…

"What is it honey," Taia asked in her best Mommy Voice.

"Can I go for a walk? I'm bored."

Taia tilted her head to the side. "Honey, you're locked in a cage. You can't just-

"No I'm not! One of the leopard peoples dropped the key!" To make her point Hope held up a small iron key and stuck it in the lock and turned it. She'd remembered seeing the leopards use it to lock the cage in the first place, so when it hit the floor later on she'd immediately scooped it up. Now she pushed the door open and crawled out. Tilting her head back, she looked her adoptive mother in the eye and said, "Told ya so."

"Way to go, you little smart aleck!" Taia grinned down at her daughter and Lila quietly cheered. "Do you think you can pull on that lever over there?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Junjie was pacing the floor and saying, "Honestly what's keeping him? I'll bet he never takes this long to take down other villains! Oh sure, he can hop up anytime to take down your average bandit but I, his archenemy, have to wait!"

"Who made you my archenemy?"

Junjie whirled around to see Shifu standing there with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean who? We grew up together and now I'm evil and trying to destroy you! That makes me your archenemy!"

"I don't know Junjie. After all, isn't Taotie doing the same thing?"

"_Taotie,"_ Junjie shouted, outraged. "That warthog might know how to build weird machines, but we both know he's an idiot when it comes to planning! How dare you even suggest choosing him over me! I'm disgusted with you!"

"Would you calm down? You're such a drama queen. Can we just fight and talk about this later?"

"Fine, but I'm still mad at you!"

"Well unfortunately, this won't help." With that, Shifu punched Junjie directly between the eyes. Junjie's leopard students jumped forward to defend their master, and Po and the Five came out of hiding to do the same. Before long it was an all out brawl with Junjie and Shifu in the center of it.

"So, call me an eavesdropper if you want, but I just so happened to overhear that little fiasco with Taia," Junjie taunted. "Tell me, what's it like to be rejected by your closest companion?"

"Well," Shifu grunted while deflecting Junjie's kicks. "Better than being a disgrace to the name of Kung Fu, the Jade Palace, and Master Oogway, I suppose."

Junjie snarled and lashed out without thinking, allowing Shifu room to deliver a vicious blow that sent the fox hurtling backwards to hit the wall. Seeing that his students were doing a decent job with the leopards, he hurried down the hall in search of the prisoners.

He rounded the corner and ran right smack into Taia who was in the process of escaping along with Hope and Lila. "OOF," the two cried as they collided and collapsed in a heap.

"Nice to see you," Shifu said as he disentangled himself.

"Yeah, you too. Hey listen, this might sound crazy, but I've been thinking-

"I'm sorry, but can this wait until we're not inside enemy headquarters?"

Taia shook her head. "Of course." She turned to look at Lila and said, "Watch Hope for me, please." Turning back to Shifu she said, "We have business to take care of."

* * *

One humiliating battle later, Junjie was tied and gagged alongside his students while guards were being summoned to take them away. Taia was cuddling Hope, Mantis and Viper were having a (*cough*awkward*cough*) talk, Po, Crane, and Monkey were taking bets on how long it would take for them to get together while Tigress just stood and shook her head, and Shifu and Lila were standing away from everything.

"Listen," Lila said. "I really am sorry. I've learned now what it's like to have your heart broken; repeatedly. The reason I came here was to, well, maybe see if we could get back to where we were."

"Lila, I really-

"It's okay," she interrupted. "I know. I heard everything you told her in the hallway and…I understand."

With a small, exhausted sigh, she turned away from him and started for home. Taia looked up to see her going and quickly jumped up. Passing Hope to Shifu, she raced after Lila. Shifu stared at Hope, who looked mad. "What's wrong?"

"Checkers."

"Oh, I promised to play that with you, didn't I?"

"Yup."

"Oops…Maybe when we get home?"

"Maybe," Hope said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I decide to forgive you."

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure Taia didn't give birth to you?"

* * *

"Hey! Lila! Wait!"

Lila sighed and turned around to see Taia running towards her. "What now?"

Taia hated to see someone look so crushed and deflated; even if that someone was Lila. "I just wanted to say…well, thanks."

"For what?"

"Well, for being willing to help out, even if that didn't go so well…And for apologizing to Shifu, that was big…And for-well-you know…"

"Backing off," Lila offered.

"No! Well, yeah, kind of…"

"No problem. I'm used to heartbreak."

"Hey," Taia said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. So you don't have the best luck with guys? You did the right thing. And as sappy as it is, that's what counts. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

Instinctively the two shared a comforting hug. That is, before they remembered who they were and jumped apart, even going so far as to brush off the fronts of their dress/shirt.

"Okay that was gross," Taia said. "But listen, I know what you're looking for-someone who will take care of you, right? Someone who'll be nice and actually treat you right."

"Well," Lila hesitated, "Yeah. But it's not like that kind of guy is common."

Taia smirked. "You'd be surprised."

* * *

Shifu saw Taia walking back and stood up. The guards had arrived and taken Junjie away and the young masters had already started the trek home. Shifu had stayed behind to wait on Taia and Hope had insisted on doing the same and waiting, but had dozed off and was now dreaming peacefully in Shifu's arms. Taia walked up to the two and smiled with utmost fondness at the sleeping child. She and Shifu shared a smile of their own.

"I apologize," Shifu whispered, "for earlier. I should have respected the boundaries, as well as your rights. I admit my outburst was, in short, uncharacteristic and undignified. I was just feeling…"

He found himself at a loss for words and looked at his feet. Taia placed a hand under his chin and made him lift his head. "Tired?"

"Yes. Of everything."

"Same here."

They locked eyes. The moon was high and full. The stars were peeking out and the air was just a bit chilly. They leaned in close and-

-were immediately interrupted when Hope gave out a loud, tired yawn and squirmed around in Shifu's grasp. The two rolled their eyes and chuckled silently before heading for home.

"So," Shifu asked as they began the walk back. "What happened with Lila?"

"Let's just say that I made two lonely people, very happy."

* * *

**A WEEK OR SO FROM NOW**

* * *

Lila walked up to the large estate and knocked on the front door nervously. She'd followed Taia's directions and wound up at this place, still not sure what exactly was to await her on the other side of the door.

The door finally opened to reveal a red panda with slightly grayed brown fur and warm, sad brown eyes. Lila looked down at her feet, trying to gather her thoughts before speaking.

"Um, he-hello, I am, uh, Lila and Taia, you know your friend-I think- said you'd be here. Well she was right about that wasn't she, hehe…"

Kahn was too busy staring at the well aged vixen to really understand half of this mindless babbling. But the name Taia stood out and immediately got his attention.

"Taia sent you here? Why?"

"Well she… she said that.."

Lila lifted her head and two looked each other in the eyes for the first time.

"She said you might like a friend."

A smile tugged at the red panda's lips. "That I would. Do you play chess?"

"Oh, yes, I do."

"Good. I've been needing a partner. Playing against yourself can get rather monotonous, don't you think?"

"Yes," she said stepping in and looking around at the spacious home that she would grow accustomed to. "It certainly can."

* * *

**BACK IN THE PRESENT**

* * *

Everyone made it home and the students immediately headed off to bed. Taia and Shifu tucked Hope in together and quietly shut the door before going back into the Hall of Heroes. They stood face to face.

"Well," Taia said. "I'd better figure out where those kids of mine are."

"Yes, and I'd best go back to sleep. Lots of training to do tomorrow."

"Yeah, training," she said, not sure what else there was to say. "Well, goodnight," she added, turning to leave.

"Goodnight. Oh wait, Taia?"

"Yeah," she called over her shoulder.

"I love you."

She halted mid stride and turned around to look at him. She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He held her tight and listened as she whispered, "I love you too."

They separated slightly to smile at each other. Quietly they leaned forward, lids slowly closing and-

**CRASH!**

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"_Well I don't care who_ did _do it,"_ Taia shouted, pulling away from Shifu. _"When I catch you neither of you is getting any dessert for the next year!"_

"Ugh," she grunted, lowering her volume and her blood pressure. "I gotta go catch some troublemakers. Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Can't. I promised Hope a game of checkers, and we're having lunch with Master Chao."

"Oh good, it'll be nice to see him. Well, goodnight bud. Love ya."

"I love you too," he said sincerely and she turned to go hunt down her children. He went into his room and relaxed on his bed, feeling as if a weight had been taken off his chest.

"I really do," he whispered.

* * *

**THat's it. Seriously. I have nothing more to do with this story. I refuse to add on to it. Why? Because I am severely disappointed in it. For those of you who enjoyed this story, I thank you greatly for your support and feedback, but I honestly feel like I fell short here in the quality of the story.**

**But, nontheless, I'm leaving it like it is. WHy? 30% laziness and 70% using it as a way of looking back at my writing and working to do better in the future. Sorry I didn't resolve Mantis/Viper. Maybe I'll do a one shot. **

**Also, those of you (by that I mean all of you) who don't remember Kahn, he was this little weirdo who showed up around chapter 10 in the original story; he had a crush on Taia, Taia didn't reciprocate and... That's it. That was pretty much his entire character, as I decided to go a different direction in the story. I brought him back as a means of tying up loose ends. **

**Anyways, there you have. This IAT signing off. R&R and all that jazz.**


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